A fundraiser for Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old black man shot in the back by police after reportedly being told to “drop the knife,” topped $2.1 million early Monday afternoon.
A GoFundMe set up by Blake’s mother Julia Jackson reached over $2.1 million early Monday afternoon, just over one week after the altercation. While the incident remains under investigation, viral video shows the moments leading up to an officer opening fire, as Blake walked to a vehicle and opened the driver’s side door. An eyewitness of the incident said police instructed Blake to “drop the knife,” and the Wisconsin Department of Justice confirmed that a knife had been found in the driver’s side floorboard of the vehicle.
The Wisconsin DOJ also revealed that officers attempted to deploy tasers to subdue Blake, but both efforts ultimately failed.
Reports of Blake, who is paralyzed from the waist down, being handcuffed to the hospital bed drew anger and criticism from prominent figures on the left.
“How the f**k do you handcuff Jacob Blake that you paralyzed to a hospital bed after you shot him in the back seven times?” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) asked, concluding that “you can’t reform this.”
“Jacob Blake has felony warrants for his arrest from crimes he committed prior to the shooting incident,” Wright said. “Anyone with this classification level that we are guarding in the hospital would be treated in this manner.”
The handcuffs were removed from Blake’s hospital bed last week, according to Blake’s attorney.
“Earlier today, Mr. Blake posted the bond underlying the arrest warrant, enabling his release from custody,” Milwaukee County Sheriff’s investigator Scott Still said, according to WISN. “The hospital watch was discontinued immediately after receiving this information from Kenosha authorities.”
The sexual assault charge stems from a May incident, in which his girlfriend claimed that he entered her home and sexually assaulted her, per the criminal complaint:
LNB stated at about 6AM she was woken up by the father of her children, Jacob Blake, herein known as the defendant, standing over her saying, “I want my shit.” As LNB lay there, on her back, the defendant, suddenly and without warning, reached his hand between her legs, penetrated her vaginally with a finger, pull it out and sniffed it, and said, “Smells like you’ve been with other men.”
Officer Raiche reported LNB had a very difficult time telling him this and cried as she told how the defendant assaulted her and then the defendant immediately left the bedroom.
LNB stated the defendant penetrating her digitally caused her pain and humiliation and was done without her consent.
She told officers that Blake “has physically assaulted her around twice a year when he drinks heavily.”
The police-involved incident sparked violent riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which left many businesses in ruins as protesters torched the city. President Donald Trump is expected to visit the city on Tuesday.
“If I didn’t INSIST on having the National Guard activate and go into Kenosha, Wisconsin, there would be no Kenosha right now. Also, there would have been great death and injury,” Trump said on Monday.
“I want to thank Law Enforcement and the National Guard. I will see you on Tuesday!” he added:
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