Kenosha District Attorney Michael Gravely announced on Tuesday afternoon that no charges will be filed against any of the police officers that were involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake last year.
“It is my decision now that no Kenosha law enforcement officer will be charged with any criminal offense based on the facts and laws,” Graveley said.
Blake was shot after he failed to cooperate with law enforcement officers who were attempting to place him under arrest and after he attempted to enter a vehicle. Blake had allegedly admitted that he had a knife in his possession, which police later recovered from inside the vehicle.
#BREAKING: Kenosha, Wisconsin District Attorney announces that none of the police officers in the Jacob Blake case will face charges pic.twitter.com/kHEXcIIm0r
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 5, 2021
The Daily Wire reported last year:
Police Officer Rusten Sheskey said he shot Blake “because he was afraid Blake, while attempting to flee the scene, was trying to kidnap a child in the backseat of the vehicle,” CNN reported in an article titled, “Lawyer says cop shot Jacob Blake after hearing a mother’s desperate plea: ‘He’s got my kid. He’s got my keys.’”
Sheskey’s attorney, Brendan Matthews, noted that if Blake had been allowed to drive away and something happened to the child, the entire narrative would be about why the officer didn’t do something to stop Blake.
The New York Post reported at the time that Blake had a warrant out for his arrest when police responded to the scene where they later shot Blake.
The New York Post reported:
Blake is accused in the criminal complaint, which was obtained by The Post, of breaking into the home of a woman he knew and sexually assaulting her.
The victim, who is only identified by her initials in the paperwork, told police she was asleep in bed with one of her children when Blake came into the room around 6 a.m. and allegedly said, “I want my sh-t,” the record states.
She told cops Blake then used his finger to sexually assault her, sniffed it and said, “Smells like you’ve been with other men,” the criminal complaint alleges.
The officer who took her statement said she “had a very difficult time telling him this and cried as she told how the defendant assaulted her.”
The Associated Press was slammed online by conservatives and progressives in the media on Tuesday for the way that they initially covered the announcement from Kenosha’s district attorney, leaving out critical context.
“Thanks, @AP , for zero context and extra racism,” Breitbart Editor Joel Pollak wrote. “There was a warrant for Jacob Blake’s arrest. He visited his alleged sexual assault victim, who called 911. He then resisted arrest, and allegedly reached for a knife. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges. You guys rooting for riots?”
Thanks, @AP, for zero context and extra racism. There was a warrant for Jacob Blake's arrest. He visited his alleged sexual assault victim, who called 911. He then resisted arrest, and allegedly reached for a knife. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges. You guys rooting for riots? https://t.co/sJOZMNxprf
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) January 5, 2021
“Off way for AP to write up a story where a man violated a restraining order against a woman who had charged he had sexually assaulted her, physically fought cops, had a knife, and was trying to get away with her kids in a possible chase situation,” Progressive Zaid Jilani wrote. “The way you would read the Associated Press’s writeup, there is no indication the police were acting in defense of the woman, themselves, and the children.”
The way you would read the Associated Press's writeup, there is no indication the police were acting in defense of the woman, themselves, and the children.
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) January 5, 2021