Police fired tear gas on Monday when a rally seeking racial justice in Wisconsin’s Kenosha city turned violent, as anger once again builds up in the US at a white officer shooting a black man. Clashes erupted for a second night after a video circulated showing Jacob Blake, 29, a Black Man who was shot and wounded multiple times in the back by police Sunday watching his three children.
Shortly after a curfew put on Kenosha County began at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Tuesday), local police dressed in crowd control gear started driving demonstrators back from outside a county court using tear gas, an AFP reporter said. We fired on the officers of the Kenosha County Sheriff after the protesters started throwing water bottles. Several protesters then fired fireworks at police and more bottles. Some demonstrators later destroyed streetlights and set a nearby building on fire.
Blake, 29, was airlifted into a critical condition hospital in Milwaukee but local media announced on Monday afternoon that his family said he was out of surgery and recovering. Kenosha County, on the shores of Lake Michigan, declared a curfew from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday after demonstrators set many city vehicles on fire and destroyed the county court late Sunday. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said he’d be sending 125 National Guard members to the city to keep order Monday night. One couple had brought with them their seven-year-old daughter. Also, eight-year-old son, who only gave their names as Michelle and Kalvin.
The Racism
Another woman, Sherese Lott, 37, request that police keep accountable. The video and the lack of any immediate clarification ignited painful memories. It is of African American George Floyd’s police killing in Minneapolis. It is three months ago that sparked major nationwide protests. New protests also hold in the city of Minneapolis Monday night to support Jacob Blake’s demands for justice. Several demonstrators see burning an American flag. Hundreds of demonstrators have marched against Blake’s shooting Monday in New York City.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called for the shooting to be a straightforward investigation. Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, of Wisconsin, said Blake’s shooting represented a trend of police brutality against African Americans nationwide. Kenosha police pushed back on criticism and encouraged the public to wait for the Wisconsin Justice Department’s investigation findings. According to the Justice Department, the officers involve in the incident put on unpaid leave.
Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, who represents Floyd’s family. Other black victims of police brutality said Blake had been attempting to break up a two-woman battle.
