The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports there will be no charges filed against the police officer who shot Jacob Blake back in August during an arrest incident. District Attorney Mike Gravely, a Democrat, made the announcement earlier Tuesday.
The officer who fired, Rusten Sheskey, could successfully argue self-defense before a jury, Graveley said during a Tuesday news conference. His decision was based on evidence that could not be seen on cellphone video of the incident, which showed Sheskey shooting Blake, 29, as he got into a vehicle with his children inside.
Gravely based the decision on the officer’s ability to cite self-defense, as Blake had possession of a deadly weapon at the time.
A jury would be required to examine the evidence from the officer’s point of view, Graveley said. It is “incontrovertible” that Blake was armed with a knife when he was shot, Graveley said. He described it as a “razor blade-type knife” and said Blake admitted possessing it.
“It’s really evidence about the perspective of Officer Sheskey at each moment and what would a reasonable officer do at each moment,” Graveley said. “Almost none of those things are answered in that deeply disturbing video that we’ve all seen. … Officer Sheskey felt he was about to be stabbed.”
This squares up with live-fire scenario training I have experienced. Instructors teach that any weapon in the possession of your opposite must be treated as deadly — as the weapon that will be used to kill you if you fail to act in your own defense.
The Blake shooting was not fatal but left him paralyzed. Video of the shooting triggered massive riots in sleepy Kenosha, Wisc., during which much of the town was burned. BLM/antifa rioters also looted many local businesses and destroyed much of its black business district. Gov. Tony Evers (D) called in the National Guard to help restore order, but not before chaos had engulfed the town.
Armed citizens rose up to defend the town from the rioters, many of whom were not from Kenosha.
After the shooting, information regarding Blake’s background and his actions came to the fore that cast the incident in a different light. He had a violent history dating back several years. At the time of the shooting, he was reportedly under investigation “for sexual assault with a child present, stealing the victim’s car, and theft via swiping her ATM card as well as his actions on the day of the shooting.”
Blake also will face no charges stemming from the shooting incident.
When the nation needed unity, Joe Biden chose sides before most of the facts were in, and visited Blake in the hospital and released a related campaign ad.
In a related case, teenager Kyle Rittenhouse has pled not guilty to the charges against him.
When the nation could have used a cooler head, Joe Biden called Rittenhouse a “white supremacist” despite having no evidence that the then-boy is or ever was one or that race had anything to do with the shooting he was involved in. Rittenhouse is reportedly suing Biden for libel.
Gov. Evers has proactively activated the National Guard.
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