Washington: Kenosha, a county in Wisconsin, became the latest flash point in US after the police shot and wounded a Black man as he leaned into his SUV while his three children sat in the vehicle. Protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear on Sunday night, while Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden condemned the shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, who was hospitalised in serious condition.
Police said Blake was shot while they were responding to a call about a domestic dispute. They did not immediately disclose the race of the three officers at the scene or say whether Blake was armed or why police opened fire, and they released no details on the domestic dispute. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing Blake's family, said Blake was simply trying to do the right thing by intervening in a domestic incident.
The officers were placed on administrative leave while the state Justice Department investigates. Kenosha County imposed an 8 pm curfew to try to head off another round of violence on Monday night. The shooting happened around 5 pm on Sunday and was 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 his 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 officers fired. During the shooting, a Black 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.”
Biden called for an immediate, full and transparent investigation and said the officers must be held accountable. This morning, the nation wakes up yet again with grief and outrage that yet another Black American is a victim of excessive force," he said, just over two months before Election Day in a country already roiled by the recent deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. "Those shots pierce the soul of our nation."
Republicans and the police union accused the politicians of rushing to judgment, reflecting the deep partisan divide in Wisconsin, a key presidential battleground state. Wisconsin GOP members also decried the violent protests, echoing the law-and-order theme that President Donald Trump has been using in his reelection campaign.
