Partly True: Kenosha Police shot Jacob Blake when he was helping two women.

By: Veena S
December 15 2021

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Jacob Blake was shot multiple times in the back by Kenosha Police but whether he was helping two women at the time is unclear as of now. On August 23, 2020, a black man named Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by the police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which was filmed by a neighbor. The video became viral, claiming that Mr. Blake was an innocent who was trying to break up a fight between two women when the police arrived. The video does not include the said altercation between Blake and the women. On August 26, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting. Two days later, Wisconsin Senator Stephen L. Nass made a statement with details of the shooting, provided by the Kenosha Professional Police Association. He said that the police officers were dispatched to the location due to a complaint that Mr. Blake was armed with a knife and attempted to steal the caller's keys/vehicle. He added that Mr. Blake was not breaking up a fight between two women when officers arrived on scene and that the officers went 'hands-on' with Mr. Blake to gain control and compliance and met with active resistance, tased him two times to no effect, and drew firearms based on the inability to achieve compliance and control after using verbal, physical, and less-lethal means. Mr. Blake's lawyer, Ben Crump, has maintained that he was unarmed and was trying to break up a disturbance between two women. He posted a video of Blake, partly paralyzed, speaking from a hospital bed on September 6. He only talked about his bodily condition and has not commented on the shooting. As the civil rights investigation is underway, further details are awaited. As of yet, there is no independent and credible evidence about Mr. Blake's actions before the police officers arrived at the scene.