Here’s what police say occurred and what’s not told in the attempted explanation of the Kenosha shooting
On Wednesday night, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation said the incident stemmed from a domestic dispute.
Officers arrived to the scene and attempted to arrest Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, and used a Taser in a failed attempt to stop him, the DCI said. Blake walked around his vehicle, “opened the driver’s side door, and leaned forward,” the agency said.
Kenosha Police officer Rusten Sheskey, who has been with the department for seven years, then fired seven times into Blake’s back, the agency said. No other officer fired their weapon.
The agency said Blake admitted he had a knife in his possession, and law enforcement agents said they recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of Blake’s vehicle.
The release is the first official police version of events but still leaves gaping holes in its timeline and only the outlines of an explanation. It does not indicate why police moved to arrest Blake, whether Blake brandished or threatened to use the knife, or why Sheskey shot so many times into Blake’s back, and it does not mention his children in the vehicle or other family members standing just feet away.
The protests extended into the sports world on Wednesday night as the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks refused to play a playoff game, sparking wildcat strikes across basketball, baseball and soccer leagues.
What the police say occurred
Sunday’s incident began when a woman called police saying “her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises,” according to investigators.
In a police call, a dispatcher names Blake and says he “isn’t supposed to be there” and that he took the complainant’s keys and refused to leave. The dispatcher later explains she doesn’t have more details because the caller was “uncooperative.”
Police said that about five minutes after the initial report, a dispatcher received reports of shots fired.
Police rendered aid to Blake and he was flown to a Milwaukee hospital, police said.
Blake’s three children were in the vehicle at the time, attorney Ben Crump has said.
Earlier Wednesday, a family attorney told CNN that Blake did not have a weapon in the car.
“I can’t speak directly to what he owned but what I can say is that his three children were in the car,” Patrick Salvi Jr. told CNN. “That was on the forefront of his mind. That is the most important thing to him in his life — his family and his children.”
‘He’s a young man and he’s resilient’
Justin Blake, the uncle of the victim, told CNN on Wednesday night the family didn’t want to talk to the officer.
“We just want to make sure the supervisors, those who are in charge, understand that (Blake’s) mother and … his father just want justice,” he said. “We don’t want to talk to him. He should have to deal with the system that’s in front of him, and we need to make sure that that system works.”
A family attorney previously said Blake suffered multiple injuries in the shooting including a gunshot wound to one arm and had damage to his kidney, liver and spinal cord.
On Wednesday night, Blake’s uncle said they are hopeful he may have “a great recovery.”
“(His recovery) is going to be slow, it’s going to be progressive, but he’s a young man and he’s resilient,” Justin Blake said.
“He has every chance, as anybody else, to turn things around.”
