Jacob Blake’s uncle sues Kenosha police over his own ’21 arrest
An uncle of Jacob Blake, whose shooting by a white police officer sparked days of sometimes violent protest in Kenosha in 2020, has sued law enforcement officials over his arrest following the shooting.
Justin Blake’s federal lawsuit lists as respondents Kenosha County, Sheriff David Beth and several deputies, some of whom aren’t identified by name. It claims violations of Blake’s right to free speech, excessive force and detention and other causes of action. According to the complaint: Justin Blake was protesting silently outside the Kenosha Public Safety Building around 10 p.m. April 25, 2021. He and other protesters were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Blake’s lawsuit says officers knew he was Jacob Blake’s uncle, and that Blake was neither disorderly nor obstructive. After he refused to answer questions, he was forcibly put into an “emergency restraint chair,” and kept strapped into it for seven hours.
“He was immobile, and restraints were tightly tied to his legs, arms, and he had a horse like collar strap that went over his head and over his chest,” the lawsuit states, even though Blake was never a danger to himself or others.
The lawsuit claims officers put Blake in the chair in retaliation for him exercising his right to remain silent upon arrest.
Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by officer Rusten Sheskey after Blake refused orders to get on the ground and was getting into a car armed with a knife.
The shooting was caught on video by a neighbor and quickly went viral, prompting the protests.
Blake suffered paralysis from the shooting and now uses a wheelchair. Sheskey was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Two nights after Blake was shot, Kyle Rittenhouse, an Illinois teen, fatally shot two protesters and wounded a third in the city.
A jury later acquitted Rittenhouse of homicide and other charges after he testified he fired in self-defense.