Officers involved in Wisconsin shooting of Jacob Blake placed on leave

Officers involved in the Sunday night shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., have been placed on administrative leave, state officials announced. 

The Wisconsin Department of Justice said the officers have been placed on administrative leave in a Monday update about the shooting. The department did not name the officers or confirm how many of them were placed on leave. 

The department is investigating the officer-involved shooting. 

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) identified Blake on Sunday evening as the person who had been shot. Blake was transported to a hospital in Milwaukee where he is in serious condition, according to officials. 

Video of the shooting, captured by onlookers and shared on social media, shows police in Kenosha trailing Blake with their weapons drawn and then shooting him at close range several times in the back as he gets into an SUV. 

Blake was helping to deescalate a domestic incident when police drew their weapons, according to lawyer Ben Crump, who was retained by the Blake family. Crump is a renowned civil rights attorney who has also represented families of high-profile Black victims of police brutality, including the family of George Floyd who was killed in Minneapolis police custody in May. 

“Their irresponsible, reckless, and inhumane actions nearly cost the life of a man who was simply trying to do the right thing by intervening in a domestic incident. It’s a miracle he’s still alive,” Crump said in a statement about Blake. 

The family of Jacob Blake has retained @BenCrumpLaw. We will seek #JusticeForJacobBlake and his family. We demand answers from @KenoshaPolice. pic.twitter.com/hpOr2tmdif

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 24, 2020

Blake’s three sons were in the vehicle he was getting into when he was shot, according to Crump.

“We will seek justice for Jacob Blake and for his family as we demand answers from the Kenosha Police Department. How many more of these tragic ‘while Black’ tragedies will it take until the racial profiling and undervaluing of Black lives by the police finally stops?” Crump added.