Officer who shot Blake returns, won’t face discipline
The Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back in August, touching off days of violent protest in the city, has returned to regular duty and won’t face any administrative discipline.
District Attorney Michael Graveley announced in January that Rusten Sheskey would face no criminal charges in the Aug. 23 incident that left Blake paralyzed from the waist down.
On Tuesday, Chief Daniel Miskinis issued a press release on Twitter stating that Sheskey has also been cleared of breaking any internal policies, and has been back on duty after months of administrative leave since March 31.
“Although this incident has been reviewed on multiple levels, I know that some will not be pleased with the outcome,” Miskinis wrote. “However, given the facts, the only lawful and appropriate decision was made.”
The news came the same day that a suburban Minneapolis police officer, Kim Potter, resigned after she fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. Her boss, Brooklyn Center, Minn., Police Chief Tim Gannon, who had told reporters that Potter thought she was firing her Taser, not her gun, and referred to the shooting as an accident, also resigned Tuesday.
In the Kenosha incident, an investigation by the state Department of Justice found Blake was armed with a knife in the moments that led up to the shooting. Graveley said he could not disprove Sheskey’s claim that he feared for his life when he fired seven shots at Blake.
On March 25, Blake filed a federal civil rights lawsuit for damages against Sheskey.
Blake claims Sheskey’s use of deadly force was excessive, violated Blake’s rights under the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable seizure, and was done with “malice, willfulness, and reckless indifference” to Blake’s rights.
One of Blake’s attorneys, Patrick Salvi Jr., called Tuesday’s revelation that Sheskey had returned to full duty without discipline very surprising.
“How can anyone say this is a desired result for a police encounter?” Salvi asked. He called it “a very sad state of affairs” if Kenosha police truly believe Sheskey acted in accordance with policy and training.
“But that’s not true and we’ll prove it in our lawsuit,” Salvi said.
Sheskey’s attorneys in that case did not immediately return calls seeking comments.
Protest and violence quickly followed Blake’s shooting, which was captured on video by a neighbor. Sheskey fired seven shots at Blake as he was trying to enter a car, after ignoring officers’ orders to drop a knife.
The Kenosha County Courthouse area, as well as Uptown a few blocks away, was subjected to three nights of protesting marred by vandalism, arson and, on the third night, deadly shootings.
It was late on Aug. 25 when then 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse used the assault-style rifle he had been carrying all evening to kill Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wound Gaige Grosskreutz, 27.
Rittenhouse faces several felonies, has pleaded not guilty, and has been free on $2 million bail largely raised through social media among conservatives and gun rights advocates. His lawyers say he acted in selfdefense. His trial is set for November.