Recently minted Democrat Vice Presidential candidate 55-year-old Kamala Harris said today that Kenosha, Wis. cop Rustan Sheskey should be charged for shooting 29-year-old Jacob Blake seven times in the back. What’s clear from the video is that Sheskey unloaded his service weapon into Blake’s back for no reason, certainly not self-defense. Kamala thinks Sheskey should be charged because there’s no other explanation for Sheskey’s behavior, shooting an unarmed suspect seven times in the back. Laying paralyzed form the waist down in a Kenosha hospital, Blake may never walk again, despite surviving a remarkable seven gunshots. Under investigation by Wisconsin’s Department of Justice, Kenosha police claim they want to get it right before charging Sheskey. With five nights of violent street protests since Sunday, Aug. 23, the night of the shooting, justice must be served.
Reports of Blake chained or handcuffed to his hospital bed haven’t been confirmed, adding insult-to-injury over the racially charged shooting by a white police officer. “I think that there should be a thorough investigation and based on what :”’I’ve seen, it seems that the officer should be charged,” Harris told NBC’s “Today Show” host Craig Melvin. Harris should know having served as San Francisco District Atty. and California Atty. General. Showing her cautious side, Harris was asked whether the use of force was justified. “I don’t see it. But I don’t have all the evidence,” Harris told Melvin, leaning toward charging the officer. Without charging Sheskey sometime soon, Kenosha could see itself burned to the ground by the time authorities get around to a disposition. Kamala noted that Blake wasn’t armed at the time he was shot seven times in the back.
When George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis cp Derek Chauvin’s knee-on-his neck, the state Attorney General did everything possible to expedite the charges. Telling the press that Wisconsin’s Department of Justice could take 30 days to charge Jacob Blake’s police shooter, law enforcement has worsened the racial unrest, now in its fifth straight day. Whatever fact investigators expect to find, it’s not a rush-to-judgment to accept the fact that Kenosha cop Rustan Sheskey violated every known police procedure to subdue a suspect. When you consider that Blake committed no crime, it makes Sheskey’s actions even more egregious. Law enforcement doesn’t know whether or not Sheskey harassed Blake in a case of mistaken identity when he investigated a domestic dispute. What known for sure is that Sheskey shot Blake in the back seven times, not once or twice.
Excessive police force isn’t in dispute, only what prompted Sheskey to unload his service weapon in Blake’s back. Suspending Sheskey and charging him with assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder would not rob Sheskey of due process as he prepares his defense. Leaving the case in limbo pending an investigation only makes the situation worse. Wisconsin authorities know that Sheskey will be charged, regardless of what the investigation finds. “The man was going out his car. He didn’t appear to be armed,” Harris said. “If he was not armed, the use of force what was seven bullets coming out a gun at close range in the back of a man, I don’t see how anybody could reason that that was justifiable.” Harris raises a good point that whatever investigators eventually find, there’s simply no conceivable self-defense claim that can be made by any law enforcement professional.
National Basketball Assn., Major League Baseball and National Hockey League all postponed games to show solidarity with the African American community. Even former President Barack Obama shared his solidarity with professional athletes boycotting games. Los Angeles Lakers’ 35-year-old NBA icon LeBron James said it best that it makes blacks feel that it’s no safe to walk the streets, whether that’s true or not. Still not over the George Floyd murder, the country didn’t need more examples of police violence toward African Americans. “And y’all wonder why we say what we say about the polict!! Someone please tell me WTF is this???!!! Exactly another black man being targeted. This shit is so wrong and so sad!! Feel so sorry for him, his family and OUR PEOPLE!! We want justice,” LeBron tweeted, expressing the collective frustration of the African American community.
Before anyone can answer LeBron’s questions, Sheskey must be charged at the earliest possible time, regardless of what happens when he mounts a defense. Justice is about using the law to make a statement about what looks like egregious racism, whether or not that’s what happened. When police officers make serious mistakes, especially with officer-involved shootings, it’s usually due to poor training, panic or post-traumatic stress, leaving officers unfit for duty. Slashing police budgets makes matters worse when what’s needed is more education, training, better supervision and, if needed, more mental health services for stressed out officers. If LeBron and others really want to figure out what goes wrong, they need to look beyond racism to see what happens with otherwise responsible police officers that crack under the pressure. While it’s tempting to blame everything on racism, other factors are at play.
