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Kamala Harris says officer in Jacob Blake shooting should be charged

28 August 2020
Dan Ackermann

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris told NBC's "Today" that the police officer that shot Jacob Blake multiple times in the back, leaving him paralyzed, should face charges, based on what she saw in the video of the incident.

Why it matters: It is rare for officers to be charged in the deaths of Black Americans, as seen in an Axios review of the most prominent cases of police killings.

What she's saying: "I think that there should be a thorough investigation and, based on what I've seen, it seems that the officer should be charged," Harris, who previously served as California's attorney general, said.

  • "Everyone should be afforded due process, I agree with that completely."
  • "But here's the thing: in America, we know these cases keep happening. And we have had too many Black men in America who have been the subject of this kind of conduct. And it's gotta stop."

Catch up quick: Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey, a seven-year veteran of the department, fired his weapon seven times into Blake's back, according the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

  • During the investigation following the initial incident, Blake told officers he had a knife in his possession, which was later recovered from the driver’s side floorboard of his car. Officers reportedly did not find any other weapons in his car.

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.