*The Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times claims he thought Blake was trying to abduct one of his own children, so he opened fire.
Here’s more from The AP:
Brendan Matthews, the attorney for Officer Rusten Sheskey and the Kenosha police union, told CNN that when Sheskey arrived at the scene on Aug. 23 in response to a call from a woman who said Blake was at her home and shouldn’t be there, he heard a woman say, “He’s got my kid. He’s got my keys.”
Sheskey saw Blake put a child in the SUV as he arrived, but he didn’t know that two other children were also in the back seat, Matthews said. He said Sheskey told investigators he opened fire because Blake “held a knife in his hand and twisted his body toward” the officer, and that he didn’t stop until he determined Blake “no longer posed an imminent threat.”
Matthews said if Sheskey had allowed Blake to leave and something happened to the child, “the question would have been ‘Why didn’t you do something?’”
READ MORE: ‘It Hurts to Breathe’: Jacob Blake Speaks Publicly for First Time from Hospital Bed (Watch)
Video of the Aug 23 incident shows three officers standing with Blake before he walks toward the driver’s side of his car. An officer with his gun drawn follows Blake, then grabs the back of his shirt while firing multiple shots into his back. Blake appears to go limp before he is seen lying on the ground surrounded by officers.
Blake’s shooting sparked outrage and led to several nights of protests that turned deadly when 17-year-old suspected white supremacist Kyle Rittenhouse traveled from Illinois (with his mother) to the demonstratiosn in Kenosha, Wisconcin, where he shot and killed two protesters and wounded a third. The GOP has praised him for being a “true patriot” and a “hero.”
Kyle’s mother received a standing ovation on Thursday while attending a Waukesha County Republican event.
Wendy Rittenhouse was applauded by the crowd after being brought on stage by conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, MSN reports.
Rittenhouse is facing charges of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, recklessly endangering safety and possession of a dangerous weapon over the Kenosha shootings.
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