Kenosha police shot Jacob Blake less than three minutes after their arrival at scene, dispatch audio reveals
KENOSHA, WISCONSIN: Dispatch audio has revealed that Jacob Blake was shot immediately after the police officers arrived at the scene. The Black man was shot several times on Sunday, August 23, as he tried to enter a vehicle. The Kenosha police who reportedly responded to the 2800 block of 40th Street after receiving a complaint of “family trouble” shot Blake in the back numerous times less than three minutes after their arrival. The Journal Sentinel, a part of USA TODAY Network, has reported that the police radio traffic is from Broadcastify - the world's largest source of public safety, aircraft, rail, and marine radio live audio streams. The outlet has also taken information from police radio transmissions, Kenosha police, video, and witnesses.
According to the timeline of the report, at around 5 pm on Sunday, a neighbor saw Blake barbecuing outside his apartment. By 5:11 pm, cops were sent to the 29-year-old’s address over a complaint of “family trouble”. A dispatcher told officers that a woman said Blake “isn’t supposed to be there and he took the complainant's keys and is refusing to give them back”. The dispatcher also informed officers that an alert has been issued for a person there due to some reason, known in police radio code as a 10-99, at that address. It has been reported that an arrest warrant was issued for Blake stemming from a domestic case in May.
At 5:13:47 in the evening, one of the officers asked the dispatcher how Blake looks, they were told that the complainant had told the that Blake was trying to leave. And when the dispatcher tried to get Blake’s vehicle description, she reportedly became uncooperative, leaving cops with no information on the vehicle. The officer then told the dispatcher that he had arrived at the scene.
By 5:14:28 pm, another officer also arrived there and at 5:15:37 pm, a third officer asked the dispatcher to send three more squads. Around that time, a witness filmed a video that showed Blake and two cops tussling on the ground on the passenger side of a small gray SUV. The brawl happened less than two minutes after the first cop arrived.
While a different video taken by another person showed three officers - two males and one female - with their guns in their hands and behind Blake as he walked from the sidewalk around the front of the car. The two male cops were closer to the Black man and as he tried to enter the SUV, one of them grabbed his shirt and shot him in the back at close range. Blake was reportedly shot seven times, the sound of which was followed by the car’s horn as he fell forward.
A cop then reported “shots fired” at around 5:15:50 pm while another one asked the dispatcher radio traffic should go to a restricted channel so the general public cannot hear. A cop also told the dispatcher that “we need rescue ASAP.” In response to that, the dispatcher informed officers that Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputies were coming to the scene and the Wisconsin State Patrol was also being notified. It has also been said that an outside agency, which was later identified as the Wisconsin Department of Justice, will take care of the investigation.
In addition to these, some more videos taken by bystanders have shown cops attempting to save Blake’s life as he lied on the ground soaked in blood. Later, he was driven about eight blocks to Bradford High School into the ambulance, where a Flight for Life helicopter awaited.
Meanwhile, Blake’s family has revealed that he will need a "miracle" to walk again after being hit by bullets seven times in the back. His family and lawyers have added that one of the bullets hit his spinal cord resulting in a partial or complete severing, which means he is now paralyzed. "His family believes in miracles, but the medical diagnosis right now is that he is paralyzed and, because those bullets severed his spinal cord and shattered some of his vertebrae, it is going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr to ever walk again," lawyer Ben Crump said on August 25. The shooting has also sparked riots and protests in the city. To show their anger against police brutality, people are setting vehicles on fire, vandalizing the courthouse, and gathering outside the Kenosha Police Department building demanding justice for Blake.