A violent, chaotic night gave way to a day of protests and political battles Monday in Kenosha, Wis., in the wake of a police officer shooting a Black man while responding to a domestic dispute.
Residents of the city about 60 miles north of Chicago woke to burned-out cars and broken glass following the unrest touched off by the shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake. Video appeared to show an officer firing several shots as Blake was turned away from the cop, and he was hospitalized in serious condition Monday.
Just before noon Monday, activists gathered in the neighborhood where the shooting happened before marching downtown to continue the protest. Clyde McLemore of the Lake County, Illinois, chapter of Black Lives Matter said he had spoken with Blake's family and attorney, who told him the man's condition had improved overnight in a local hospital.
"He hasn't left this earth," McLemore said. "He's doing good. A lot better than expected."
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, quickly condemned the shooting Sunday night, and the three officers at the scene were placed on administrative leave, standard practice in shootings by police, while the state Justice Department investigates.
Authorities did not disclose the identities of the officers involved or say whether they believed Blake was armed. On Monday, Evers called out the National Guard.
The shooting happened about 5 p.m. Sunday in Kenosha, a former auto manufacturing hub of 100,000 people. The shooting and the events immediately preceding it were captured from across the street on cellphone video that was posted online.
In the footage, Blake walks from the sidewalk around the front of his SUV to the driver-side door as officers follow him with their guns pointed and shout at him. As Blake opens the door and leans into the SUV, an officer grabs his shirt from behind and opens fire while Blake has his back turned.
Seven shots can be heard, though it isn't clear how many struck Blake or how many of the officers fired. During the shooting, a woman can be seen screaming in the street and jumping up and down.
"While we do not have all of the details yet," the governor said in a statement, "what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country."
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden joined Evers in criticizing the shooting. In a statement released by his campaign, Biden said, "The nation wakes up yet again with grief and outrage that yet another Black American is a victim of excessive force."
Republicans and the police union alleged a rush to judgment, reflecting the deep partisan divide in Wisconsin, a key presidential battleground state.
"As always, the video currently circulating does not capture all the intricacies of a highly dynamic incident," Pete Deates, president of the Kenosha police union, said in a statement. He called the governor's statement "wholly irresponsible."
Wisconsin's Republican Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke cautioned the public and elected officials against "racing towards judgment," given how few details were known.
"The frustration & anger that many in our communities are feeling must be met with empathy, but cannot be further fueled by politicians' statements or actions that can stoke flames of violence," Steineke tweeted.
While it happened across the state border, the shooting drew condemnation from some in Chicago. Black Lives Matter Chicago tweeted early Monday morning, "This is why we won't be silenced and this is why we are fighting to defund the police."
Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted, "I am deeply disturbed by the video capturing part of the incident. I urge civil & criminal authorities to pursue an immediate & thorough investigation of the shooting."
Blake has deep ties to the Chicago area, and his family has been in and around suburban Evanston for generations, his uncle told the Tribune. Blake played football and basketball for Evanston Township High School, according to the uncle, Justin Blake.
Court records show Blake has a pending criminal case that started last month. Online court records indicate Kenosha County prosecutors charged Blake on July 6 with third-degree sexual assault, trespassing and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse. An arrest warrant was issued for Blake the following day.
The records contain no further details and do not list an attorney for Blake.
His uncle, Justin Blake, described him as "a lively young man" with "a hell of a personality."
Jacob Blake moved to the Kenosha-Racine area a few years ago for a job and his family, his uncle said. Jacob Blake's grandfather, Jacob Blake Sr., served as pastor of Ebenezer AME Church in Evanston and was a local leader in the civil rights movement, according to Chicago Tribune archives.
A few days after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the Rev. Jacob Blake Sr. helped organize and spoke to a crowd of about 3,000 Evanston residents who marched in support of a local comprehensive housing law, according to information from the Evanston History Center.
Evanston's Jacob Blake Manor, which is an affordable housing community, is named after the pastor, according to Evanston officials.
During the unrest in Kenosha that followed the shooting Sunday night, social media posts showed neighbors gathering in the streets and shouting at police. Some could be heard chanting, "No justice, no peace!" Others appeared to throw objects at officers and damage police vehicles.
Officers fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.
In a scene that mirrored the widespread protests over the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people, marchers headed to the Kenosha County Public Safety Building, which houses the police and sheriff's departments. Authorities mostly blocked off the building, which was closed on Monday because of damage, authorities said.
By late Monday morning, there were a few signs of the previous night's violence in the neighborhood of one-story homes and townhouse apartments where the shooting took place. A 32-year-old man who gave his name as Darnell said he and his wife had gotten up early to clean up the mess, as well as Blake's blood.
He didn't witness the shooting but called Blake "a good dude" who didn't cause trouble.
"If you see the video, it wasn't anything big," he said. "It was just the police and him. They could have done anything other than shoot that man. It's bad, and it's not going to get better until everybody decides to say something, not just us that's protesting and rioting. Everybody's got to speak."
Laquisha Booker, who is Blake's partner, told NBC's Milwaukee affiliate, WTMJ-TV, that her and Blake's three children were in the back seat of the SUV when police shot him.
"That man just literally grabbed him by his shirt and looked the other way and was just shooting him. With the kids in the back screaming. Screaming," Booker said.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who has represented Floyd's and Taylor's families, said he has been retained by Blake's family.
"We all watched the horrific video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back several times by Kenosha police," Crump said in a statement. "Even worse, his three sons witnessed their father collapse after being riddled with bullets. Their irresponsible, reckless, and inhumane actions nearly cost the life of a man who was simply trying to do the right thing by intervening in a domestic incident. It's a miracle he's still alive."
Sunday's violence came two weeks after a man shot a Kenosha police officer and fled. The officer's injuries were not life-threatening, and police arrested the alleged shooter a few days later in Gary.
Another Kenosha police shooting in 2004 has driven controversy and change in Wisconsin in the years since. An officer fatally shot 21-year-old Michael Bell Jr. after he struggled with officers trying to arrest him after a traffic stop. The Kenosha County district attorney ruled the shooting justified, but Bell's father, Michael Bell Sr., felt the investigation was a whitewash. The father lobbied for the adoption of a Wisconsin law that now requires outside agencies to investigate police shootings.
Michael Bell Sr. told the Tribune Monday morning he hopes to learn more about the details of what happened Sunday but was disturbed by the video.
"I think the shooting looked horribly bad," he said.
