Black Man Shot in the Back. Will the Police Brutality Never Stop?
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIDEO BELOW
Another Unarmed Black Man Shot by Police
We all woke up this morning to the news that police had shot a Black man in the back and it was caught on video. A call was made to the Kenosha Police Department (Wisconsin) about a domestic disturbance. We don’t know all the details of what happened yet.
Witnesses say that Jacob Blake had been trying to break up a fight between two women. At least three police officers drew their weapons on Mr. Blake. He ignored them and walked around his car toward the driver’s side with officers following. Mr. Blake opens the car door and one of the officers grabs him by the back of the shirt. In what appears to me to be a natural movement, he leans forward somewhat, using his body weight to try to pull the shirt from the officers grasp. The officer holding the back of his shirt shoots Mr. Blake in the back. It’s not clear but it appears he is the only one shooting. Whether he was the only one or not, seven shots are heard.
Officer Will Say This Caused Him to Fear for His Life
I mention the natural motion of trying to pull away from someone grabbing your shirt because I have no doubt that is what the officer will claim as justification for the shooting. I’ve already seen several news accounts of this incident that say it is unknown whether Mr. Blake had a weapon or it is unknown if he was leaning into the car to get a weapon. The officer’s attorney will say that Mr. Blake appeared to be leaning in to get a weapon. He doesn’t have a choice. There’s nothing else he can use. He’s going to have to muddy the waters to try to distract from the obvious excessive force. But I’ve watched the video many times and that’s not what I see. It doesn’t appear that the officer gave him any time to lean in at all before he was firing into Mr. Blake’s back.
Police Disregard Safety of Black Children
What you can’t see is that there are two children the back seat. (I’ve read three but the mother says two). When a person is shot, the force of the bullet entering the skin forces blood out of the opening in a spray. This is called blowback. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that, not only did the children have to witness their father being shot, about two feet in front of them, but it’s also possible they were covered in their father’s blood. And one more thing, think about what could have happened if one of those children had jumped forward to try to save his daddy?
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIDEO
WARNING GRAPHIC ⚠️ Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin shoot an unarmed man in the back pic.twitter.com/ZPdixPNwJY
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) August 24, 2020
If He Had Followed Police Instructions This Wouldn’t Have Happened
I know it’s coming. The ‘if he had just done what the police said to do’ crowd is going to jump in trying to shift the blame to the Black man. There were at least three officers there. None of them made any move to physcially restrain Mr. Blake, which would have been a lower level of force with them having the greater numbers. None of them appear to have pulled out their tasers, a less lethal form of force. No. These officers immediately drew their weapons. They went straight to deadly force. They follow him around like he is some deadly kind of animal that they are terrified to have to approach. Is it any surprise that their perception of Black people as being subhuman, potentially vicious animals, results in police violence and excessive force?
Abuse of power by police, against Black and brown people, is the bedrock of the anger against police in our current environment. Video has shown us how often police officers really do this. When the individual is Black, their first thought is to shoot. No concern is given to any Black children who may be in the vicinity or in the line of fire.
What Happens When a White Person Resists Arrest
Now let’s compare that to the video below. In the below incident you have one officer, no back up. That would place the officer at greater fear for his safety. The man he is trying to control is bigger than he is. The officer is able to get at least enough control of the man to be able to reach for a weapon. What weapon does he reach for? Watch what happens.
NOTE: At this time, Mr. Jacob Blake is still fighting for his life. People who have had enough of the continued police violence are protesting and rioting. And no doubt, the City of Kenosha will be facing an excessive force lawsuit.
A police officer in Indiana exercises great restraint against a suspect who fights back pic.twitter.com/PBdBC7MsZ4
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) August 10, 2020