Riots erupt in Wisconsin after OIS; officer knocked out with brick

By Law Officer

KENOSHA, Wis. — An officer involved shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wis., on Sunday led to hourslong protests that devolved into arson, looting, and riots. Moreover, one officer appeared to be knocked out after getting hit in the head with what witnesses described as a brick, according to a video posted on social media.

Graphic video posted by Twitter user @BotchlaUS on Sunday night shows a pair of officers walking around a police car amid a backdrop of fighting and small fires when the officer is seen suddenly collapsing to the ground.

Other police officers can be seen trying to help the injured cop as people in the background are heard yelling, “He just got bricked,” and, “F*** the police,” the video shows.

“Officer down,” police were heard yelling on the scanner, according to The Journal Times.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the officer was from Kenosha Police Department or another law enforcement agency.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that police were dispatched on a domestic violence call at about 5:11 p.m. prior to the shooting. The report said that officers administered aid to Blake, who was airlifted to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee.

Police did not immediately provide details about what led to the shooting.

Julian Castro, the former 2020 Democrat presidential hopeful, retweeted a purported video of the shooting that appeared to show officers yelling at Blake as he tried to walk around an SUV and get into a driver’s side seat. One of the officers appears to hold Blake by his shirt and open fire, Fox News reported.

The OIS led to riots.

Gov. Tony Evers on Sunday night condemned the shooting of the man, who he identified as Jacob Blake, saying in a statement that “while we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.”

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is now investigating the shooting, Fox News reported.

By late Sunday, multiple vehicle fires had been set and windows smashed along city thoroughfares as crowds faced off with law enforcement. Officers in riot gear stood in lines and SWAT vehicles remained on the streets to move people away from city buildings despite the declaration of an overnight curfew.

According to reporters at the scene, tear gas was used to disperse groups of people.

Cellphone and interior surveillance footage shared by CBS 58 shows people looting multiple local stores.

And reporter on the ground Drew Hernandez, who uses the Twitter handle @livesmattershow,” shared his own footage of people smashing windows and climbing into storefronts.

People also reportedly set several fires to cars and buildings, videos posted by Hernandez show.

One of the images shows what he describes as a “local small business building” up in flames.

He also shared several videos of what was reported to be a car dealership set on fire.

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

Earlier in the night, Hernandez captured video showing a group of people blocking an armored police vehicle and shouting that the police are “instigating,” and that they’re, “f****** cowards.”

 

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Law Officer

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