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Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake sparks protests

Posted at 8:10 PM, Aug 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-25 08:52:00-04

KENOSHA, Wis. — Protesters held multiple demonstrations after Kenosha became the site of the country's latest police shooting.

Cellphone video shows 29-year-old Jacob Blake walking away from officers to a car when police shot him causing him to suffer serious injuries.

Kenosha Police said officers were in the area of 40th and 28th for a domestic incident when the shooting happened. They did not release further details.

Protesters claimed Blake was acting as a good samaritan before police shot him. They assure protests will not stop until the officer who shot Blake is arrested for attempted murder.

"We as in black people are tired of the police always attacking us. Why do you guys want to attack us? We have a life too and we would like to live our life. But we can't even walk down the street at night without having to worry about the police messing with us," said Quentin Bonpy, a demonstrator.

A group gathered around Monday near the site of the shooting. From there they marched to the courthouse and eventually the district attorney's office, both of which were closed because of overnight damage.

Meanwhile, Kenosha County is again declaring a state of emergency curfew east of Interstate 94 starting at 8 p.m. and lasting until 7 a.m.

Businesses spent Monday boarding up windows, either due to windows that were broken or to brace for what the night could bring.

"These aren't just buildings and stuff like that for us," said Jon Kim.

Kim's family has owned the U.S. Taekwondo Academy in downtown Kenosha for more than 40 years. It is their livelihood.

"There’s got to be a better way. The way that they hit these businesses they weren’t just protesting. They were being absolutely destructive," said Kim.

Governor Evers announced the National Guard will deploy 150 members to Kenosha, adding it is to ensure people can peacefully protest.

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