White Police Officer Who Shot Jacob Blake, Left Him Paralysed Waist Down Will Not Face Discipline As He Returns To Work
Wisconsin police officer who shot a Black man named Jacob Blake and left him paralyzed from the waist down after the shooting in August, has returned to work and will not face discipline.
Police department in Kenosha, Wisconsin in a statement on Tuesday stated that officer Rusten Sheskey did not violate police department policy in shooting the 29-year-old Black man, and has been allowed to return to active duty.
It would be recalled that Blake’s shooting on August 23 made Kenosha the focal point of national outrage, after video showed Blake being shot at least 7 times as he appeared to walk away from police and toward an SUV where his children were inside.
Sheskey and two other Kenosha officers were trying to arrest Blake on an outstanding warrant when a pocketknife fell from his pants during a scuffle.
Blake said he picked it up before heading to a vehicle to drive away with two of his children in the back seat.
As he opened the driver’s side door and leaned forward, Officer Sheskey held onto his shirt and fired 7 shots into his back.
The officer, who is white, is now back on the job after returning from administrative leave on March 31, Chief Daniel Miskinis announced on Tuesday April 13.
Miskinis said the officer was “found to have been acting within policy and will not be subjected to discipline.”
The determination was made after an outside investigation and an independent expert review, the statement said.
Sheskey claims he shot because Blake was armed with a knife and he thought Blake might stab him, as he responded to a “domestic incident.”
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Miskinis expressed;
I know that some will not be pleased with the outcome; however, given the facts, the only lawful and appropriate decision was made.
Although this incident has been reviewed at multiple levels, I understand that some will not be pleased with the outcome; however, given the facts, it was the only lawful and appropriate decision to be made.
Following this, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley in January decided that prosecutors would not bring charges against Sheskey since they didn’t believe they could disprove his self-defense claim.
Read Also: Wisconsin Officer Who Shot Jacob Blake 7 Times Identified As Rusten Sheskey
Graveley at the time told reporters in January that Sheskey and other officers would have had a strong case for self-defense.
He stated;
If you don’t believe you can prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt, you have an ethical obligation not to issue charges.
The shooting of Blake, captured on video sparked another protest over police brutality and racism. It happened three months after George Floyd, another black man died while being restrained by police officers in Minneapolis.
Last month, Blake filed a federal complaint against Sheskey, seeking unspecified damages. He filed a civil lawsuit in federal court, claiming Sheskey used excessive force and acted with “malice, willfulness, and reckless indifference.”
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Tuesday’s announcement comes as violence by police against the Black community is again at the forefront of national attention.
The trial of Derek Chauvin—who’s accused of murdering George Floyd last May—is now into its third week, while the Minneapolis area is again the site of unrest after another deadly police shooting.
Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was also gunned down Sunday afternoon by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, after an officer apparently grabbed and fired her gun instead of a taser when trying to arrest Wright during a traffic stop.
