Wisconsin on the brink after cop shoots Black man
24 August 2020
The next name you'll hear: Jacob Blake, 29, who is in serious condition after being shot seven times in the back by police officers while reaching into his car in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Why it matters: Black men are shot by white police officers at a disproportionate rate, and justice for these shootings is often scarce — or only initiated after mass protests and unrest.
- Blake's kids — ages 3, 5 and 8 — were in the vehicle as he was shot.
- The city was put under an emergency curfew last night after protests swept the city.
- Both officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave.
Driving the news: About 125 members of the Wisconsin National Guard are expected to be deployed on Monday night to Kenosha, which is again under an 8 p.m. curfew.
The big picture: 2020 may eventually be remembered as the year public perception started to shift on structural racism, but the list of Black people shot by police officers continues to grow.
- "The police want everybody to know they're out here to protect and serve, but you guys are constantly giving us — Black people, in particular — reasons not to let you guys protect and serve," witness Raysean White told CNN.
- "We don't want you guys around because we are scared for our lives. You come to an incident to disarm an argument, and this Black man gets shot. It wasn't supposed to go down that."
"These shots pierce the soul of our nation," Democratic nominee Joe Biden said in a statement. "Jill and I pray for Jacob’s recovery and for his children."
- "Equal justice has not been real for Black Americans and so many others. We are at an inflection point. We must dismantle systemic racism. It is the urgent task before us."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly 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.