Trucks set on fire in Kenosha riots. pic.twitter.com/TFhB0AkIRA
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 24, 2020
Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kathy and I join his family, friends, and neighbors in hoping earnestly that he will not succumb to his injuries.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) August 24, 2020
Democratic Gov. Evers went on:
While we do not have all of the details yet, 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.
We stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equity, and accountability for Black lives in our country—lives like those of George Floyd, of Breonna Taylor, Tony Robinson, Dontre Hamilton, Ernest Lacy, and Sylville Smith.
And we stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites.
I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy, equally important is our action. In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.
That’s it, that’s the whole thread. No call for peace or warning against rioting.
The governor’s tweets didn’t do much good for the parking lot of the Unitarian Universalist church:
Note the sign. Kenosha burns. pic.twitter.com/9IYPewPOFI
Here’s a posting on Saturday on that Unitarian-Universalist church’s Facebook page:
Here’s my 2016 essay “What’s the Matter With Wisconsin?” explaining why Wisconsin (and Minnesota) tend to have blacks more dysfunctional than the national black average.
This was not the first time Jacob Blake made the news. From the Racine County Eye in 2015:
Police: K9 Dozer Helps Subdue Man Who Pulled Gun at Bar
by Racine County Eye
September 22nd, 2015Racine police say K9 Dozer had to help officers take a man into custody when the man refused to go quietly into custody after he pulled a gun at a local bar.
Jacob Blake, 24, of Racine, was charged Monday in Racine County Circuit Court with one felony count of resisting arrest, causing a soft tissue injury to a police officer and one misdemeanor count each of carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct. If convicted, he will face up to 8-1/2 years in prison and/or up to $50,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint, Blake and two women were at the Brass Monkey tavern, 1436 Junction Avenue, Saturday when Blake got into an argument with another patron and pulled a black handgun. Blake pointed the gun at the other man, and the magazine fell to the floor. The bartender told Blake to leave, and he did but then pointed the gun through the window at patrons inside the bar before walking south on Junction Avenue.
Police say they encountered a woman walking on Junction who was in the bar with Blake, but she said she didn’t know what happened and that her friends left without her in a silver SUV. A few moments later, officers were advised that a silver SUV was traveling north on Junction with a male subject driving who matched the description of Blake, and they initiated a traffic stop in the 1200 block of Racine Avenue.
Believing the driver was armed, police conducted a high risk traffic stop, the complaint reads, and ordered Blake to put his hands out the window of the vehicle. Instead, Blake exited the SUV and started walking toward officers and ignored commands to get down on the ground. Officers forced Blake to the ground and ordered him to put his hands behind his back. When Blake refused to comply, K9 Dozer was deployed to force the defendant into compliance.
While police were at the hospital with Blake so he could be treated for the wound he obtained from K9 Dozer …
Blake was searched and police say he had a holster on his hip but no gun. A subsequent search of the SUV turned up a black handgun on the floor behind the driver’s seat.
Sadly, Dozer was unavailable today in Kenosha.
Judging by all the search hits, I’m finding, Dozer appears to have been one of Racine’s more famous residents.
