Wisconsin: Protests erupted in Kenosha in the US state of Wisconsin after police shot an apparently unarmed Black man multiple times in the back. The shooting of the Black man prompted authorities to impose a curfew. The incident Sunday is likely to add to continuing outrage and protests in the United States against police brutality and racism. Protests have ravaged the United States since the death May 25 of George Floyd. He was 46-year-old African-American man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The victim in Kenosha, identified by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers as Jacob Blake was hospitalised in serious condition.
A video circulating on social media and cited by the US media showed a man walking towards a car. He was followed by two officers and one of them shot him as he opened the car door.
Soon afterward, multiple fires were set at the scene by a crowd that gathered to protest against the incident. Social media posts showed crowds marching down streets of Kenosha. It is a city of around 100,000 people on Lake Michigan about 65 miles (100 km) north of Chicago. The crowd was seen throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks at police officers.
Police responded by imposing a city-wide curfew until 7.00am local time.
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The shooting occurred at around 5.00pm as officers were responding to what they called a ‘domestic incident’. The victim was immediately taken to a hospital by the police, according to a Kenosha police department statement. No further explanation was given by the police as to what led to the shooting.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice said early Monday that officers involved in the shooting had been placed on administrative leave. The state’s Division of Criminal Investigation said it would aim to issue a report to prosecutors within 30 days.
Governor Evers, in a tweet, said Blake had been ‘shot in the back multiple times in broad daylight’. “We stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites,” he said. “We stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equity and accountability for Black lives in our country,” Evers added. He mentioned Floyd and other victims of brutal law enforcement in his tweet.
“We’re tired of it…We’re tired of it,” Clyde McLemore, who local Kenosha TV identified as part of a nearby chapter of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, said at the scene. “The frustration is boiling to the top and we’re sick and tired,” Clyde added.
