Blake’s father: Paralyzed son optimistic for future

MADISON, Wis. — Jacob Blake’s father said Friday that his “happygo-lucky” son is optimistic for his future, although he remains paralyzed from the waist down after being shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer.

A clearly exhausted Jacob Blake Sr., speaking by video chat from a Milwaukee hotel, told The Associated Press that the past two weeks have been “surreal” and “like a dream” and he’s mentally worn out. He said he’s been receiving death threats, which he said he couldn’t talk about in detail.

“It’s been hard on everybody,” Blake Sr., who drove from North Carolina to be with his hospitalized son, said.

Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot Aug. 23, setting off days of protests that made Wisconsin the epicenter of the nation’s ongoing debate over police violence and racial injustice. Over three days, dozens of fires were set and some Kenosha businesses destroyed.

On Aug. 25, prosecutors say a 17-year-old from Illinois shot and killed two demonstrators. His attorneys say the teenager, who was patrolling the streets with a rifle, was acting in self-defense.

Blake was released from intensive care this week and “is doing a little bit better,” his father said.

Blake Sr. said he talks with his son about what he’ll be able to do once he’s released from the hospital, rather than his limitations if he remains paralyzed.

“We’ll go fishing together in the chair,” he said. “I’ve got the perfect spot for us. Things of that nature, things that have nothing to do with the sickness or anything.”

Five days after the shooting, Blake Sr. followed through on his plans to attend the March on Washington commemoration in the nation’s capital. His father had marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and Jacob Blake Sr. said he considered it his “duty” to still attend the march.