Nation reacts after Kenosha officers avoid charges
The decision not to charge any of the officers involved in the August shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha drew many similar reactions: it was no surprise, it was frustrating and the nation’s justice system must be reformed.
But others praised the decision and pleaded for calm in its aftermath.
Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced Tuesday he would not criminally charge Kenosha Officer Rusten Sheskey, who in August shot Blake, 29, seven times in the back from point-blank range, leaving him paralyzed.
In a news conference Tuesday, Graveley said that, had he filed charges against Sheskey, he would have expected Sheskey to successfully argue he acted in self-defense when he shot Blake as he leaned inside a vehicle after officers had tried arresting him. Graveley said Blake was armed with a knife.
In a statement, Gov. Tony Evers called Tuesday’s decision “further evidence that our work is not done.”
“We must work each day in earnest toward a more just, more fair, and more equitable state and country, and to combat the racism experienced by Black Wisconsinites,” Evers said.
He also asked for those protesting the decision to gather peacefully and safely.
“I hope for peace and justice for Jacob, his family, and the entire Kenosha community,” he said.
Jim Palmer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, the state’s largest law enforcement union, applauded Graveley’s decision in a tweet and said the case stands as an example of a “cautionary tale of the dangers of rendering judgment without the benefit of definitive facts.”
He said those facts, that Blake was armed with a knife and Sheskey felt threatened, run counter to a “wholly inaccurate and false” narrative in the aftermath of the shooting.
In a series of tweets, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes said he wished he was shocked by the decision, but called it “another instance in a string of misapplications of justice” in police shootings across the country.
“The non-prosecuting (district attorneys) are as negligent as the officers in these situations,” Barnes wrote. “Police accountability is one thing, but there’s a much deeper failure that allows a person to see the footage and ultimately determine nothing went wrong.”
In a statement Tuesday, Blake’s attorneys Benjamin Crump, Patrick Salvi and B’Ivory LaMarr said they are “immensely disappointed” in Graveley’s decision.
“We feel this decision failed not only Jacob and his family, but the community that protested and demanded justice,” the statement said. “The District Attorney’s decision not to charge the officer who shot Jacob in the back multiple times, leaving him paralyzed, further destroys trust in our justice system. This sends the wrong message to police officers throughout the country.”
Reactions from across the nation came swiftly over social media, with celebrities such as LeBron James and the rapper Common also expressing their disapproval over Twitter.
Bucks Senior Vice President Alex Lasry, whose team organized an unprecedented wildcat strike during the NBA playoffs last August in reaction to Blake’s shooting, said Graveley’s
decision leaves Blake’s family without the justice they deserve.
Two other officers who were present during the shooting, Vincent Arenas and Brittany Meronek, will also not be charged, Graveley said. Neither of the two fired shots at Blake, but Arenas did deploy his Taser on Blake prior to the shooting, law enforcement officials have said.
Cellphone video capturing the incident quickly gathered the attention of the nation and sparked days of protests, vandalism and civil unrest in Kenosha.
Republican Congressman Bryan Steil, who represents Kenosha, did not comment on Graveley’s decision, but called for peaceful demonstrations and constructive dialogue to continue in its wake.
“This has been a difficult period for Kenosha, but, when the riots ended, constructive dialogue began and must continue,” Steil said. “We also need to continue supporting what is working and fixing what is wrong.
“I support everyone’s First Amendment rights to lawfully express their views on the decision, whether you agree with it or not,” he continued. “However, any form of criminal activity in Kenosha
must not be tolerated.”
State Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, called the situation in Kenosha an example of a “broken system that desperately needs comprehensive reform.”
“We cannot continue the inaction — folks must be held accountable,” she said.
It is rare for police officers to be charged in connection with on-duty shootings. Since 2015, more than half of the murder or manslaughter cases brought against officers nationally have ended in acquittals or deadlocked juries, according to Philip Stinson, a criminology professor at Bowling Green State University.
Chris Ott, the executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, ripped Graveley’s decision as one that continues a “cycle of enabling police violence and evading accountability when they seriously injure and harm a Black person.”
“As we’ve seen so many times before, the police in this case were held to a different standard of responsibility than the rest of us,” Ott said in his statement. “Kenosha has given another terrible example in a national pattern of police using excessive force against people of color during routine encounters, escalating situations instead of defusing them and then being given a pass.”