An attorney for the police officer who shot Jacob Blake says that the officer believed he was kidnapping a child after hearing the mother’s cries during the altercation.
The revelation comes from a CNN interview with the officer’s attorney published on Friday.
The controversial police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, sparked protests and riots from Black Lives Matter supporters who accused the police of acting inappropriately. Blake was shot 7 times and hospitalized with serious injuries.
Police Officer Rusten Sheskey told investigators that he used deadly force because he believed that Blake was going to kidnap a child in the car that he was reaching into when Sheskey fired.
His attorney Brendan Matthews said that Sheskey heard the mother of the child yell, “he’s got my kid! He’s got my keys!”
Matthews added that the public would have demanded to know why the officer hadn’t done anything if Blake had been allowed to get away in the car with the child in the backseat.
Sheskey is on paid administrative leave over the incident.
Matthews also said that Blake had a knife in his hand when Sheskey fired, and that he twisted towards the officer. He claims that the viral video of the incident does not capture these crucial details.
Matthews told CNN that a second officer told investigators a similar account to that of Sheskey, and he said that he would have also shot at Blake if he had a clearer shot at him.
Blake was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries from the incident.
Investigators later said that an independent consultant would review the findings from the investigation, especially that having to do with whether police procedure was followed.
Here’s more about the Blake shooting:
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Independent consultant will review police shooting of Jacob Blake
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