MILWAUKEE – A black man who became paralyzed after being shot in the back by a white police officer in southeastern Wisconsin filed a civil lawsuit on Thursday accusing the officer of using excessive force.
Jacob Blake Jr. was shot by Kenosha officer Rusten Sheskey in August, while Blake was about to get into an SUV during a domestic dispute. Blake’s federal complaint against Sheskey, the sole defendant, seeks unspecified damages.
Sheskey did not immediately respond to NBC News’s request for comment.
Blake’s shooting, captured in spectator video, turned the nation’s spotlight on Wisconsin during a summer marked by protests against police brutality and racism. It happened three months after George Floyd’s death while being restrained by police in Minneapolis. The white officer charged with murder and wrongful death for Floyd’s death is currently on trial.
Sheskey and two other Kenosha policemen were trying to arrest Blake with an outstanding warrant when a pocketknife fell from his pants during a fight. Blake said he picked it up before going to a vehicle to leave with two of his children in the back seat. He said he was prepared to surrender as soon as he put the knife in the vehicle.
Sheskey told investigators that he feared for his own safety, then opened fire. A Wisconsin prosecutor refused to open criminal charges against Sheskey, concluding that he could not refute the policeman’s claim that he acted in self-defense because he thought the man would stab him.
The court documents do not list a lawyer for Sheskey.
The 18-page complaint includes photos showing each of Sheskey’s seven shots. The officer held the pipe a few feet from where Blake’s two young children were sitting, putting them in “imminent danger” of being hit by bullets or bouncing bullets, according to the complaint.
Shaskey’s actions were “carried out with malice, obstinacy and reckless indifference to the rights” of Blake, the suit said.