Jacob Blake, a black Wisconsin man shot in the back by police responding to a domestic dispute call, is no longer handcuffed to his hospital bed, his lawyer has confirmed, adding that a warrant for his arrest has been vacated.
Kenosha authorities agreed to vacate Blake’s warrant for arrest on felony third-degree sexual assault, misdemeanor trespassing, and disorderly conduct charges after agreeing on a court date, Blake’s lawyer told reporters on Friday. He was subsequently released from the handcuffs.
News that the critically injured Blake – whose shooting by Kenosha police on Sunday triggered the protests and rioting that have terrorized the city for nearly a week – was handcuffed to the bed where he lay paralyzed from the waist down had further enraged protesters after Blake’s father made it public on Thursday. When the elder Blake, also named Jacob, asked the cops guarding his son in his hospital bed the reason for the cuffs, he was told “he’s under arrest.”
The news that Blake was cuffed to his hospital bed also appeared to take Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers by surprise, with the Democrat telling reporters during a press conference later that day he had “no personal understanding why that would be necessary.”
However, the arrest warrant was filed last month in connection with a May 3 incident in which a female of Blake’s acquaintance claimed he had entered her house, sexually assaulted her, and stole her debit card and car keys before leaving in her car.
Police were called to the scene of Sunday’s shooting over “family trouble,” according to the radio dispatcher, who alerted them to the fact that Blake had an outstanding warrant. According to the caller, Blake had taken her car keys and refused to give them back. He was attempting to enter the driver’s seat of a vehicle with his three sons sitting in the back when officers shot him from behind seven times. The police had been on the scene for less than three minutes before opening fire.
The unrest triggered by Blake’s shooting has left at least two protesters dead and several businesses in ruins. Nearly 1,000 National Guard troops have been sent in, along with more than 200 federal agents, to quell the violence, which has shown no sign of winding down. A 17-year-old Illinois resident has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder for shooting three protesters, though video of the altercation suggests he may have acted in self-defense.
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