Police shooting in Wisconsin,protests erupt

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Peaceful marches in protest of a police shooting gave way to fires, destruction and looting in Kenosha as a strip of businesses in a central residential neighborhood was consumed in flames early Tuesday.

Residents emerged from their houses overnight to gape at billowing smoke that could be seen for miles. Lost in the blaze, neighbors said, was a mattress store, a storefront church, a Mexican restaurant and a cellphone store. Less than a mile away, a probation and parole office was also on fire.

A line of National Guard members, called to Kenosha amid rising tension over the shooting on Sunday of Jacob Blake, a Black resident who was shot by a white police officer, prevented anyone from getting close as firefighters worked to douse the flames.

“This is our town,” said Mike Mehlan, 33, a chef, as he stared at the buildings, stunned.

Mr. Mehlan said that just a half-hour before, he saw at least 20 cars pull up to a nearby gas station, break in and then head to the stores one block away. They entered the mattress store and set it on fire, he said.

In several other cities around the country overnight, there were demonstrations and, in some cases, flashes of destruction in protests that cited the shooting of Mr. Blake as the nation’s latest example of police violence.

In Kenosha, the worst destruction was limited to a relatively small area of the city, which is home to about 100,000 people, and some neighborhoods of Kenosha were quiet. At least one sheriff’s deputy was injured in the neck by a firework that was set off. It was uncertain whether there were arrests.

One resident said he had little problem with burning businesses to spur social change and reform to policing. “It’s unfortunate, but it has to be done,” said Wayne Gardner, who lives around the corner.

In Portland, Ore., where nightly protests have continued for nearly three months, a few hundred demonstrators began a march by chanting about Jacob Blake. The crowd later gathered outside a building for the Portland Police Association, and some demonstrators lit fires on the exterior of the building before police moved in, using tear gas, shoving protesters to the ground and making arrests.

In Seattle, some 200 people marched in solidarity with Kenosha. The group was led by a line of protesters holding shields, and occasionally a small group of musicians. Some protesters threw trash and then fireworks at the East Precinct police station, igniting a fire in front of the building. Some also broke windows at a Starbucks.

In New York, hundreds of people marched peacefully down Fifth Avenue in support of Mr. Blake. There were no arrests, according to police.

In Minneapolis, at least 11 people were arrested downtown, outside the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center, after the authorities said protesters grew destructive during protests. Sheriff Dave Hutchinson of Hennepin County said protesters broke windows at a detention center and “threatened to breach the security of the jail.” One police officer suffered a broken hand during a confrontation with demonstrators, he said.

In Kenosha, Chauncey Body, 44, watched the flames from the sidewalk. “This hurts,” he said.

He said that if the fires were set in the name of protest, he believed in the conviction behind them. “But this is a neighborhood. They’re putting lives in danger,” he said.

Kenosha, which has been engulfed in protests, unrest and destruction for two days, is under a curfew at night. Police officers attempted to disperse people who were standing outside, with little success. They used tear gas to try to clear people away.

Sheriff David Beth of Kenosha County said the police were outnumbered. “We’ve got 200 officers, I don’t know how many armored vehicles,” he said. “It’s not enough. It’s a battle we aren’t able to keep up with.”

Two people were killed and a third was seriously wounded in a shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, late Tuesday during the third night of protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, police said.

Officers responded to reports of multiple gunshot victims around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, the Kenosha Police Department said in a news release early Wednesday.

The person injured was taken to the hospital with "serious, but non-life threatening injuries," police said.

An investigation into the shooting is ongoing and the names and ages of the victims are still being determined, according to the release.

Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told The New York Times his office is investigating whether the shooting resulted from a conflict between demonstrators and a group of men with weapons who were protecting businesses.

CNN has reached out to the Kenosha Police Department and the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office.

The protests come days after police shot Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, multiple times as he tried to enter an SUV with his children in the back.

Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney who represents the family, said police shot Blake after he had tried to break up an argument between two women. Police have not provided any information on what led up to the shooting.

Two Kenosha officers have been placed on administrative leave. The shooting is being investigated by the Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley's office and the Wisconsin Justice Department's division of criminal investigation, which plans to present a report to Graveley's office within 30 days, it said.

Wisconsin's governor declared a state of emergency Tuesday after cars and buildings were set ablaze and called in 250 members of the National Guard to assist. Blake remains in the hospital but his family says he is paralyzed from the waist down. A family attorney said it would take a "miracle" for Blake to ever walk again.

Kyle Rittenhouse, a rifle-toting teenage Blue Lives Matter fan suspected of fatally shooting at least two people and injuring another during protests in Kenosha over the shooting of Jacob Blake, has been charged with murder.

Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested in Illinois and faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, according to Lake County, Illinois Clerk of Courts public records.

So far, he is labeled a “fugitive from justice” in the complaint, which states that the teenager “fled the state of Wisconsin with intent to avoid prosecution for that offense.” He’s been assigned a public defender and was scheduled to appear at an extradition hearing on Aug. 28, according to court records.

A gunman shot one person in the head and another in the chest around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday amid another night of violent unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Videos circulating on social media showed an armed man falling to the ground, then firing at people who seemed to be making an attempt to disarm him.

In one video, a young man fires several shots at protesters—before getting up and walking toward police vehicles. With his rifle still on display, the suspected gunman appears to have his hands over his head as he approaches police in an apparent surrender.

In another video, a man with similar clothing can be seen running and holding his rifle. He’s heard apparently uttering into his phone, “I just killed somebody,” as he continues to run.

“He had his hands up and they told him to get out of there, even though everyone was yelling that he was the shooter,” Brent Ford, a 24-year-old photographer who witnessed the shooting, told VICE News. “The police didn’t seem to hear or care what the crowd was saying.”

A video posted to Twitter by a Daily Caller reporter also appeared to show an interview with Rittenhouse the evening of the shooting. In it, a reporter asks a rifle-carrying teen what he’s doing at the protest.

“So people are getting injured and our job is to protect this business,” he replies. “And part of my job is to also help people. If there is somebody hurt I’m running into harms way. That’s why I have my rifle because I need to protect myself obviously. I also have my med kit.”

In a separate video apparently shot Tuesday, the same individual appeared to utter the words “I’m Kyle, by the way,” to a videographer on scene in Kenosha.

The arrest came after hours of social media chatter tying the teenager to the shooting. Rittenhouse’s Facebook page became unavailable shortly before the announcement of his arrest, but it included numerous photos with Blue Lives Matter-style pro-police slogans and imagery, as well as of an Armalite rifle similar to the one he appears to have been photographed carrying in Kenosha.

In a December 2018 post, Rittenhouse requested his followers donate for his birthday to a police advocacy organization, Humanizing the Badge

I’ve chosen this nonprofit because their mission means a lot to me, and I hope you’ll consider contributing as a way to celebrate with me,” the post reads. “HTB is a non profit organization seeking to forge stronger relationships between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve. We’re doing this through community service projects, mental health support, social media content and strong partnerships with others blazing new paths.”

In a video posted to Twitter seemingly shot at the boarded-up gas station where Rittenhouse appeared in the Daily Caller video, an individual resembling the accused can be seen conversing with police officers and other vigilante guards. One voice in the video, possibly an officer, asks the civilians to stop pointing their weapons at the crowd. One armored truck at the scene issued reprimands over a microphone, but the driver of another shared bottles of water with the group, and offered words of support.

“We appreciate you guys, we really do,” the driver said.

The lakeside town of Antioch is just over a half-hour’s drive from Kenosha. Rittenhouse appears to reside there with his mother, Wendy Lewis, whose Facebook page features multiple images of her son—including one of him dressed as a police officer, with the tagline “We Back the Blue.”

In a 2018 bankruptcy declaration, his mother said she did not own any firearms, and the minimum age to purchase a gun in Illinois is 18. But the teen seems to have gotten his hands on one years ago—his mother posted a Facebook photo of him holding what appears to be an Armalite weapon. It’s unclear where Rittenhouse got the gun he allegedly used in the Tuesday shooting.

Meanwhile, just as word of the teenager’s arrest went public, President Trump announced plans to send additional “federal law enforcement and the National Guard” to Kenosha. The bluster mirrored a slew of previous tirades about unrest in cities across the country since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May.

It also seemed to ignore that a smaller contingent of the National Guard arrived in the city on Monday.

What began as the Milwaukee Bucks' decision to boycott their playoff game following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in the team's home state cascaded into a wave of similar protests across the American sports scene by Wednesday night.

Soon after the Wisconsin-based team decided to not play, the NBA announced it would postpone Game 5 of three different playoff series -- Bucks vs. Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers.

Within hours, three WNBA, five Major League Soccer and three Major League Baseball games were called off as athletes acted in solidarity with the Bucks' players.

The Bucks game against the Orlando Magic was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Disney World in Orlando. The Bucks did not emerge from their locker room before the scheduled tip.

Several NBA players were asked about the possible boycott over the last 24 hours. Many said it was being discussed.
Strikes are banned under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, which means the Bucks players broke their own contract in order to protest racial injustice and police violence.

In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, the Bucks players' said they are "calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand the officers be held accountable. "

"The past four months have shed a light on the ongoing racial injustices facing our African American communities. Citizens around the country have used their voices and platforms to speak out against these wrongdoings," they said in a statement.

"Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball."
They called on the Wisconsin Legislature to "reconvene after months of inaction and take up meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reform." They also encouraged people "to educate themselves, take peaceful and responsible action, and remember to vote on Nov. 3."

Former President Barack Obama tweeted his support of the Bucks.

"I commend the players on the @Bucks for standing up for what they believe in, coaches like @DocRivers, and the @NBA and @WNBA for setting an example. It's going to take all our institutions to stand up for our values."

Kenny Smith, one of the hosts of Inside the NBA, walked off the set of the show on Wednesday night to show solidarity with the Bucks and other NBA players.

"As a black man, as a former player, I think it's best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight," Smith said. "And figure out what happens after that."

WNBA, MLB and others show solidarity
Representing the six teams slated to play on Wednesday, Atlanta Dream player Elizabeth Williams announced that WNBA players are standing in solidarity with "our brothers in the NBA" and also would not play.

The ESPN2 broadcast showed players from the six teams scheduled to take the court in locked arms and kneeling while wearing shirts spelling out Jacob Blake's name.

The WNBA announced that the three games scheduled for the evening had been postponed.

Three MLB games were postponed: Cincinnati Reds- Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners-San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers-San Francisco Giants.

"Given the pain in the communities of Wisconsin and beyond following the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect the decisions of a number of players not to play tonight," a league statement says. "Major League Baseball remains united for change in our society and we will be allies in the fight to end racism and injustice."

The Reds and Brewers were to play in Milwaukee.

"The players from the Brewers and Reds have decided to not play tonight's baseball game," they said in a joint statement. "With our community and our nation in such pain, we wanted to draw as much attention to the issues that really matter, especially racial injustice and systemic oppression."

The Mariners also unanimously voted to not play their scheduled game against the Padres, Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon said in a tweet.

"There are serious issues in this country," Gordon wrote. "For me, and for many of my teammates, the injustices, violence, death and systemic racism is deeply personal. This is impacting not only my community, but very directly my family and friends. Our team voted unanimously not to play tonight"

The Padres said they understand the Mariners decision.

"We understand the Mariners decision to postpone tonight's game and we support the players' efforts to use their platform to bring awareness to the very serious issue of racial injustice impacting our country today," the team said.
Five MLS games scheduled to take place on Wednesday night were postponed, the league announced.

The NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs, however, continued Wednesday with two games. Before the start of Game 3 of the second-round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins, there was a moment of reflection for racism in response to the Blake shooting. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are scheduled to play later Wednesday night.

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka announced on social media that she will not play in the Western & Southern Open semifinals on Thursday.

"Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach," she wrote.

NBA community backs Bucks
Following the Bucks' decision, the team received a flood of support from many in the NBA community, including its senior vice president Alex Lasry.

"Some things are bigger than basketball," Lasry wrote on Twitter. "The stand taken today by the players and org shows that we're fed up. Enough is enough. Change needs to happen. I'm incredibly proud of our guys and we stand 100% behind our players ready to assist and bring about real change."

The Bucks owners said that they did not know about the decision beforehand, but said they "would have wholeheartedly agreed with them."

"We fully support our players and the decision they made," owners Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan said in a statement. "The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices that are happening in front of us. Our players have done that and we will continue to stand alongside them and demand accountability and change."

In a statement, the Orlando Magic backed the league's decision to postpone the games.

"Today we stand united with the NBA Office, the National Basketball Players Association, the Milwaukee Bucks and the rest of the league condemning bigotry, racial injustice and the unwarranted use of violence by police against people of color," the Orlando Magic said.

Players call for social justice
The Bucks spoke with the family of Jacob Blake ahead of the boycott, said Patrick Salvi Jr., a lawyer representing the Blake family.

"They told Jacob's parents that they were behind them 100%," Salvi told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "They expressed their sympathies and empathies for what has occurred."

In return, Blake's parents -- Julia Jackson and Jacob Blake Sr. -- asked the Bucks to use their platforms to "accomplish peace" and "encourage people to protest in nonviolent ways," Salvi said.

Some players had already been using their platforms to vocalize their calls for social justice as America reckons with racism and the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police.

When the season restarted in July, every NBA player kneeled during the national anthem, wearing "Black Lives Matter" shirts and the words "Black Lives Matter" were painted on all courts.

"We understand what's going on in society right now and we're using this NBA platform as the players, as the coaches, as organizations to continue to stand strong on that," LeBron James said last month. "It's a good start."
Throughout the season, many players dedicated their post-game interviews to Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT was shot multiple times in March by police.

Last week, the Los Angeles Lakers were seen wearing red hats, which looked like MAGA hats worn by supporters of President Donald Trump. But the text on the hats reads: "Make America Great Again Arrest The Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor."

Bucks forward Sterling Brown wrote in an article for The Player's Tribune in July, describing a 2018 incident in which he was tased and arrested after an altercation stemming from a parking violation. He filed a lawsuit that same year against the city of Milwaukee, the police chief and the eight officers involved in his arrest.

"The city of Milwaukee wanted to give me $400,000 to be quiet after cops kneeled on my neck, stood on my ankle, and tased me in a parking lot," Brown wrote last month. "But here's the thing: I can't be quiet. I rejected the offer because I have a responsibility to be a voice and help change the narrative for my people. In order to do so I have to tell my story, so dialogue and conversations about police brutality can help influence and change a corrupt system. It goes deeper than me just illegally parking."

Here is the video footage of the shooting.

It looks like an execution.

I may have heard wrongly, but from what I can tell, Kyle Rittenhouse may have been involved or at least near an earlier shooting.

Most footage and reporting I have seen was related to him firing at one person who ran up to him swinging a skateboard at his head, and another person who was carrying a handgun, and possibly aiming (either starting to, of fully aimed) this at him.

Depending on his involvement with the potential first shooting (if there was one), the later ones (on video) will likely come down to "self defence" if he wasn't involved in an earlier one (at least against the armed person he shot - the skateboarder may end as self defence as well, depending on the local laws regarding this).

Of course, if he was involved in an eralier shooting, "self defence" may or may not be applicable (again, it would depend on the local laws).

Either way, the trial will be months away, with probable further riots (if these haven't ended by then) if he gets off on self defence.

Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, was the first one killed. Video allegedly shows him chasing teen shooter & throwing something at him. Rosenbaum was a registered sex offender for a sex crime involving a minor.

Anthony Huber, 26, was shot & killed in Kenosha, Wisc. at the BLM riot. He was filmed chasing down the armed teen and hitting him when he was on the ground with a skateboard. He has a criminal history that includes charges of battery & repeat domestic abuse.

The third who was shot (& survived) is Gaige Grosskreutz, 26. He's a member of the People’s Revolution Movement. He was filmed chasing after the teen w/a pistol. He was shot at close-range in the upper arm. He has a criminal record that includes being intoxicated & armed w/a gun.

What I can't understand is why, knowing there were police there trying to get him to stop, he continued to ignore them, walking around his vehicle, opening the door, and reaching in for something.

From the point of view of the police, they would have no idea whether he was retrieving a firearm with the intention of firing at them, although I haven't heard whether there was one in the vehicle or not, and it's not exactly the sort of detail that his family\lawyers would be likely to bring up, so unless someone in the police\prosecutors office leaks, it won't be known until charges are filed\officer involved is in court\a press release comes out exonerating the officer(s).

1. He seemed to be in a defiant state of mind.
2. There was a knife in the car, no other weapon.
3. The knife was near where he was reaching.
4. There is no confirmation on whether the police officer claims to have seen the knife.
5. The police officer may have shot because he saw Mr. Blake "reaching for something".
6. The police officer fired seven times, hitting him 4 times in his back (not very good aim it seems -- at that close range). Though, some news articles say all seven shots hit. I am not sure about this.

Wiki says "four of seven shots hit"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Jacob_Blake

So, first we have a black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, being shot 7 times in the back by the police on August 23rd.

… and then, on August 25th we have a 17 year old Blue Lives Matter activist/wannabe cop/front row Donald Trump rally attendant/militia member from out of state kill 2 persons (and almost shoot the arm off a third person) with an assault rifle in Kenosha, Wisconsin...

… well, that escalated quickly...