Kenosha burns: BLM protesters set light to department of corrections building as looters run riot

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Rioters set fire to car dealerships, furniture stores, dump trucks, and a Department of Corrections building while protesters clashed with National Guardsmen as Kenosha, Wisconsin, descended into violent chaos on Monday.

The unrest entered its second day as outrage grows over the police shooting on Sunday of an unarmed black man in front of his home.

Jacob Blake, 29, is listed in serious condition in a Milwaukee hospital after a Kenosha police officer fired seven shots into his back while responding to a domestic disturbance call.

There is no police body-cam footage of the shooting as it was previously decided by city and law enforcement leaders that the devices cost too much to provide them to officers.

But a mobile phone clip of the incident went viral on social media on Sunday, igniting widespread outrage three months after the death of George Floyd.  

Meanwhile, details have emerged about Blake’s criminal past, including a recent arrest for sexual assault.

According to online records, Kenosha County prosecutors charged Blake with third-degree sexual assault, trespassing, and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse.

It was unclear whether that case had anything to do with the shooting. 

In 2015, Blake was also charged with resisting arrest and carrying a concealed weapon after he pulled a gun at a local bar in Racine.

Wisconsin’s governor called out the National Guard on Monday, and police skirmished with protesters who defied a curfew to take to the streets.

Protesters chanted, ‘No justice, no peace’ as they confronted a line of law enforcement officers who wore protective gear and stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the courthouse entrance.

Police first fired the tear gas about 30 minutes after the 8pm curfew took effect and protesters refused to disperse. 

But hundreds of people stuck around, lighting fires and screaming at police.

It is thought that the city, which is home to around 100,000 people, has so far lost a mattress store, church, Mexican restaurant and a cellphone shop in the raging fires, according to witnesses.

Dozens of cars, traffic lights and windows have also been smashed by looters who continue to run riot.  

Ordering 125 Guard troops deployed to Kenosha, on the shore of Lake Michigan 40 miles south of Milwaukee, Governor Tony Evers also decried what he branded excessive force in the shooting of Jacob Blake, and called for a special legislative session to consider police reforms.  

About an hour later on Monday afternoon, Kenosha’s mayor faced dozens of angry, jeering protesters demanding the arrest of officers involved in Sunday’s shooting. 

Some in the group tried to force their way into the municipal public-safety building adjacent to the courthouse when the mayor, John Antaramian, retreated from the heckling crowd.

The door was broken from its hinges, but police in riot gear drove the demonstrators back by dousing some with pepper spray.

Shortly after nightfall, scores of protesters defying a dusk-to-dawn curfew massed outside the courthouse, shouting and tossing water bottles at a line of sheriff’s deputies, who responded with volleys of tear gas and pepper balls.

A short time later, several truckloads of National Guard troops were seen rolling into the center of town about a block away. Local media reported that exit ramps leading into the city from Interstate 94 had been closed to traffic.

At least one sheriff’s deputy has suffered a neck injury by a firework that was set off by protestors, according to the New York Times.

It is uncertain whether there have been any arrests. 

Blake, 29, was listed in stable condition following surgery, his father told news media on Monday. His three young sons witnessed the shooting from just a few feet away while sitting in their car, according to the family attorney, Ben Crump.

Video of the encounter taken by an onlooker showed Blake walking toward the driver’s side of a gray SUV followed by two officers with their guns drawn at his back. 

Seven gunshots are then heard as Blake, who appears unarmed, opens the car door and a woman nearby jumps up and down in disbelief.

It was unknown whether the officers saw something inside the vehicle that prompted them to shoot Blake. It was also not clear whether one or both officers opened fire. 

There is no body-cam footage of the shooting as it was decided the devices cost too much to provide them to officers.

City and law enforcement leaders in Kenosha had unanimously endorsed the use of body cameras in 2017 as a way to increase police accountability and collect evidence at scenes of domestic violence, among other benefits.

But they later balked at the price tag, raised policy concerns and put off implementation. 

Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian confirmed on Monday that current plans call for the city to buy them in 2022 — more than five years after he endorsed their adoption. 

Officers do have cameras in their squad cars, but it’s unclear whether any captured the shooting.

Evers, a Democrat, said he ordered Guard troops to Kenosha at the request of local officials to help maintain order after activists said they were organizing further demonstrations for Monday night.

He also said police had shown a pattern of ‘excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites.’

‘We must rise to this movement and this moment and meet it with our empathy, our humanity and a fierce commitment to disrupt the cycle of systemic racism and bias that devastates Black families and communities,’ Evers said in a public address.

Pete Deates, president of the city’s police union, accused the governor of rushing to judgment, calling Evers’ comments ‘wholly irresponsible.’

He added: ‘As always, the video currently circulating does not capture all the intricacies of a highly dynamic incident.’  

The shooting occurred three months after the May 25 death of a Black man in Minneapolis, George Floyd, who was pinned to the street under the knee of a white police officer, sparking nationwide protests against police brutality and racism within the US criminal justice system.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democrat challenging Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election, called for the officers involved in Kenosha to be held accountable. 

‘The nation wakes up yet again with grief and outrage that yet another Black American is a victim of excessive force,’ Biden said in a statement. 

‘These shots pierce the soul of our nation.’ 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin denounced the National Guard deployment as an unnecessary and ‘militarized’ response to legitimate protests that ‘only serves to exacerbate tensions.’

Sunday’s shooting occurred as officers were responding to what they termed a ‘domestic incident.’ 

Police immediately took the victim to a hospital, according to a police statement. Authorities gave no further explanation of what led to the shooting.

Attorney Crump, who also has represented Floyd’s family, said in a statement that Blake had been trying to de-escalate a domestic incident when the officers first shot him with a stun gun. 

‘As he was walking away to check on his children, police fired their weapons several times into his back at point-blank range,’ Crump said.

The officers involved were placed on administrative leave while the investigation is underway, the Wisconsin Department of Justice said on Monday.