Police shooting leads to protests in Wisconsin

A police shooting caught on video has sparked protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a city on the Lake Michigan coastline between Chicago and Milwaukee. Police responded with force Monday night as demonstrators torched cars and set buildings ablaze, demanding justice in the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Two police officers are on leave as state authorities investigate why Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot multiple times in the back as he entered the driver’s side door of an SUV. Footage of the shooting was posted on social media by attorney Ben Crump, who represents Blake’s family.

Police said they were called to the address for a domestic disturbance, but it is unclear what happened before the video recording began. Blake has been paralyzed, according to his family’s attorneys.

The shooting came as demonstrators continue to decry police violence in American cities, including the encounters that killed George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The night before Blake’s shooting, protests erupted in Lafayette, Louisiana, after police killed a Black man, Trayford Pellerin, outside a convenience store.