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Jacob Blake's mother calls for prayers, end to violent protests in Kenosha

25 August 2020
 Dan Ackermann

Jacob Blake's mother, Julia Jackson, implored Kenosha residents on Tuesday to bring an end to the violence that followed the police-shooting of her son, adding, "We really just need prayers."

Why it matters: Kenosha, Wisconsin, has been in a state of chaos since police shot Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, eight times — months after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Protests have consumed Kenosha with calls for racial justice and an end to police brutality.

The state of play: Attorney Ben Crump, who has represented other victims of police shootings and their families, commented on Blake's condition Tuesday afternoon.

  • "The medical diagnosis right now is that he is paralyzed, and because those bullets severed his spinal cord and shattered some of his vertebrae ... it is going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again."
  • "He is currently in surgery as we speak still struggling to sustain his life and to hopefully become some resemblance of the man he once was."

What they're saying: "If Jacob knew what was going on, as far as that goes, the violence and the destruction, he would be very unpleased," Jackson said. "So I really am asking and encouraging everyone in Wisconsin and abroad to take a moment and examine your hearts."

  • "As I pray for my son's healing, physically, emotionally and spiritually, I also have been praying, even before this, for the healing of our country." 
  • "Let's use our hearts, our love and our intelligence to work together to show the rest of the world how humans are supposed to treat each other. America is great when we behave greatly."

Catch up quick: Authorities declared an emergency curfew in Kenosha late Sunday as protesters rallied.

  • Demonstrations remained peaceful until the 8 p.m. curfew on Monday. Law enforcement fired tear gas at demonstrators, according to the Washington Post.
  • Protesters threw firecrackers and water bottles, set fires and attacked signs and storefronts, according to the Post.
  • In a move described by the ACLU of Wisconsin as "unnecessary," Evers (D) declared a state of emergency authorizing the state's National Guard to support local law enforcement in what he called "a limited mobilization."

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.