Jacob Blake Suing Police Officer Who Paralyzed Him

Jacob Blake is suing the police officer who shot him in the back multiple times in front of his kids, leaving him paralyzed.

Blake was shot six times in August 2020 as he got in his SUV by Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer Rusten Sheskey. The seemingly unprovoked shooting was captured on video and shocked the nation. In the federal lawsuit filed by Blake’s legal team led by Ben Crump, Sheskey fired seven shots, one of which hitting the vehicle’s side door, coming dangerously close to striking one of Blake’s children.

In the lawsuit docs, Blake says that he did have a folding knife on him during the shooting, but he did not brandish it at any point, posing no threat towards Sheskey or any other officer. He was attempting to walk away at the time he was shot. The shooting, which the young father says was excessive, left him confined to a wheelchair and unable to perform many day-to-day tasks.

Blake is seeking unspecified damages and is requesting a jury trial. Sheskey has never been criminally charged with shooting Blake.