The mother of an unarmed Black man shot by police in Kenosha called on the rioting and destruction of the southern Wisconsin city to stop as family members also called on the officers involved in the shooting to face justice.
Julia Jackson, the mother of Jacob Blake, said the looting and destruction caused in the city over the past two nights don’t reflect their family’s values.
“If Jacob knew what was going on he would be very unpleased. So I’m really asking and encouraging everyone in Wisconsin and abroad to take a moment and examine your heart,” Jackson said.
She said she was praying for everyone, including police officers.
“We need healing,” his mother, Julia Jackson, said. “ ... I also have been praying, even before this, for the healing of our country.”
Family attorney Ben Crump said Blake faces permanent injuries.
“It is going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake to ever walk again,” Crump said.
Another attorney said his injuries include a bullet going through his spinal cord and stomach. His colon and small intestine were removed and he suffered damages to his kidney and liver.
Crump described the shooting as “brutal use of excessive force once again on an African American that was captured on video and is just shocking and outrageous and devastating. Devastating to all of us, but mostly devastating to his three little boys who was seated in the car when the police literally shot him at least seven times at point-blank range.”
Jacob Blake Sr. said his grandchildren will forever be traumatized by the shooting, which continues to play in their minds. The family is looking into getting them counseling.
“All my grandson asks is, ‘Why did the police shoot my daddy in the back?’” Blake Sr said. “How would you feel if your white son walked up to you as a mother and said, ‘Mommy, why did the police shoot my daddy in the back.’ You have no clue.”
Kenosha, a city of about 100,000 people halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee along Lake Michigan, was rocked by protests in the days that followed.
Protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear Sunday night, while Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden immediately condemned the shooting.
