Fallout from Wisconsin police shooting moves into pro sports
Officer who fired 7 times IDd; outofstate teen held in killing of protesters at Kenosha rally.
KENOSHA, Wis. — The Justice Department on Wednesday announced a civil rights investigation into the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wis., as new details emerged in the case and a white teenager whose social media accounts appeared to show an intense affinity for guns, law enforcement and President Trump was arrested in connection with two deaths.
Protesters have poured into Kenosha’s streets to decry the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black father who was partially paralyzed after a white officer fired at him in front of his children. The authorities released new details of the case Wednesday that gave a clearer picture of why officers confronted Blake, who they said had a knife.
Amid the ire over the shooting of Blake, some in Kenosha have torched buildings, and the authorities have fired tear gas in an effort to clear the streets. Counterprotesters have also emerged, and gunfire broke out along one crowded, dark street late Tuesday, sending bystanders fleeing and screaming in terror.
The violence that broke out came as demonstrators scuffled with a group of men carrying long guns who said they were protecting the area from looting. The authorities were investigating whether the white teenager who was arrested Wednesday, identified as Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was part of a vigilante group.
The fatal shooting followed a tense night of standoffs between the police and demonstrators and escalated a situation that had drawn the attention of Trump, who is in the third day of the Republican National Convention and has sought to portray Democratic cities as rife with violence and crime. Protests over the shooting of Blake also expanded to sports, where the NBA postponed multiple playoff games. Teams in the WNBA, MLS and Major
League Baseball also postponed games.
Rittenhouse was arrested in Antioch, Ill., and faces a charge of firstdegree intentional homicide, according to a court document from Lake County, Ill. Two men, a 26yearold and a 36yearold from Kenosha County were killed, the authorities said, and a third person was injured.
On Tuesday night, demonstrations had taken place in a shifting, hourslong standoff between the police and protesters. Early in the night, protesters assembled outside a metal barrier protecting a county courthouse downtown and threw water bottles, rocks and fireworks at officers.
The police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, repeatedly warning the crowd through a bullhorn that they were violating the city curfew and risking arrest.
Many protesters left the area, but others lingered at a gas station several blocks away. There, a group of men with guns stood outside, promising to protect the property and verbally sparring with protesters.
Then, near midnight, shots rang out.
Video footage appears to show Rittenhouse running and then firing his gun, striking a man in the head. He then flees and is chased by bystanders before tripping, falling to the ground and shooting another man.
Trump tweeted Wednesday that he planned to deploy federal law enforcement officials to Kenosha and that Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, had agreed to the help.
Trump’s campaign also issued a statement distancing itself from Rittenhouse, saying he had “nothing to do with our campaign.”
Officials on Wednesday for the first time identified the Kenosha police officer who fired at Blake as Rusten Sheskey, who has been with the department for seven years. Sheskey and two other officers who were present at the shooting have been placed on administrative leave as the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation investigates the case .
Officers were responding to a domestic complaint Sunday afternoon when they attempted to arrest Blake, state officials said. They used a Taser on Blake but it failed to stop him, and Sheskey then fired his gun seven times into Blake’s back.
According to state officials, Blake admitted that he possessed a knife; a knife was later recovered from the driver’sside floorboard of Blake’s car. There were no other weapons in the vehicle.