Photos: YouTube
The NAACP released the following statement regarding Kenosha county official’s decision Tuesday not to charge Rusten Sheskey with the shooting of Jacob Blake–seven times in the back as he was entering his car, where his children were present:
“Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley’s failure to bring substantial charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake causes pain for far too many Americans still reeling from a pandemic and the countless Black deaths due to police brutality.
The district attorney’s decision is foul and shameful. It is yet another stark reminder of the free-willing atrocities committed against Black people at the hands of those entrusted to maintain public safety. Atrocities committed against the people of this country by the authorities cannot and should not go unanswered. The justice system failed Jacob Blake and, as such, failed us.
At this moment, the work of the American people is clear: we must continue to fight, organize, and mobilize against police brutality. Far too many Black lives have been damaged or lost due to the egregious malpractice of police officers, elected officials, and the justice system as a whole.
While the visions of Jacob Blake, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others play over and over in our minds, we must not grow weary until we’ve achieved police liability and substantive change is realized. If there was ever a time for us to unite against a common threat to the existence of Black people, it is now.
Our fight for justice remains unyielding.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with Jacob Blake, his family and friends.”
