The Kenosha Cop Who Shot Jacob Blake Won’t Face Criminal Charges, DA Announces

Blake was left paralyzed after an officer shot him in the back seven times. His shooting prompted civil rights protests in the city that evolved into widespread unrest.

Men walk towards law enforcement with their hands up on August 24, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after the shooting of Jacob Blake. | Getty Images
Men walk towards law enforcement with their hands up on August 24, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after the shooting of Jacob Blake. | Getty Images

The Kenosha County district attorney announced Tuesday that the officer who shot Jacob Blake, a Black man who is now paralyzed from the waist down, will not face any criminal charges. 

Kenosha County DA Michael Graveley defended the decision not to bring charges, saying the investigation into the shooting was “dramatically exhaustive.”

In August, graphic bystander video captured Kenosha Officer Rusten Sheskey shooting 29-year-old Blake in the back multiple times as he stood outside of a car. The family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, said Blake’s children were in the car when he was shot.

Blake was left paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the shooting, according to his father.

Video of the shooting sparked widespread civil rights protests that evolved into widespread unrest in Kenosha, WI, during which National Guard troops were seen firing rubber bullets, tear gas, and flashbangs into crowds.

Ahead of the DA’s announcement, Kenosha city officials on Monday declared “an emergency,” and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers sent in National Guard troops, as the city braced for protests and unrest.

Crump tweeted on Tuesday that the district attorney’s “decision failed not only Jacob and his family but the community that protested and demanded justice.”