MADISON, Wis. (AP) Federal prosecutors announced on Friday that they won't bring charges against an officer of white who fatally shot Jacob Blake in Wisconsin last year.
Officer Rusten Sheskey was shot by Blake He is Black in the course of a domestic dispute in Kenosha in the month of August, 2020. The shooting caused Blake in a coma from mid-section down, and led to numerous night of demonstrations. A Illinois man killed three people, killing two of them during one of the protests.
State prosecutors decided not charge Sheskey in the spring of this year, after footage showed that Blake was carrying an axe. He was wanted for an arrest warrant for felony.
The U.S. Department of Justice began its own investigation just shortly after the shooting. The agency announced that a group of prosecutor members of its Civil Rights Division and the U.S. attorney's office in Milwaukee looked over police reports, witness testimony along with dispatch logs and video footage of the incident. They found that there wasn't enough evidence to establish that Sheskey utilized overly force in the shooting or violated Blake's rights under federal law.
"Accordingly the review of the incident has concluded without a federal investigation," the Justice Department announced in a press release.
It appears that the Blake lawyer for the family, Ben Crump, didn't immediately respond to a message asking for a response. The Blake's father Justin Blake, who has been the family's spokesperson, did not immediately respond to an email.
Its conclusions echo Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley's decision earlier in Jan. that Sheskey could be able to prove that he fired in self-defense.
Investigators discovered that Blake had been fighting with three officers for a few minutes prior to being shot. He was refusing to take a hit by a stun gun and was attempting to enter the vehicle when Sheskey attempted in an attempt to stop him with a pull at his shirt. Graveley stated that the video shows Blake looking towards Sheskey using a knife, and then pointing the blade towards the officer.
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