Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul identified the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha on Sunday as Rusten Sheskey.
Sheskey, who appears to be white, shot Blake, who is Black, in the back seven times on Sunday as he opened the door of his car. The officers present were responding to a call from a woman about a domestic issue and attempted to arrest Blake. They were “unsuccessful” in using a Taser on him, Kaul said.
As Blake returned to his car, Sheskey was the only officer to fire his weapon, according to Kaul, who said all of the officers involved are on administrative leave. Sheskey has been a police officer in Kenosha for seven years.
Kaul said law enforcement will be identifying the other officers who were present “soon.” He said law enforcement agents found a knife on the driver’s side floorboard of Blake’s car, but no additional weapons.
The Department of Justice is leading the ongoing investigation into the shooting, assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department.
Blake is still at the hospital and has been paralyzed from the waist down, according to his family. Protesters have been demonstrating against the police shooting since Sunday.
On Wednesday, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with murder and arrested for allegedly shooting several people at a protest for Blake on Tuesday night. Two people are now dead and a third person is injured.
“This eruption is based on years of oppression,” James Hall, the president of Urban League of Kenosha, who is Black, said of the protests. “What you see is a lot of pain, a lot of fear and a lot of trauma.”
“There’s the possibility that this young man could never walk again — think about that,” he added. “Let the community heal. Let them be emotional. Let them express themselves. ... Change is now.”