Jay Weber Show transcript 8/24/20 7:40am
There was a police shooting at about five o’clock last evening that led to some rioting in Kenosha last night.The shooting was caught on tape, and is being viewed over and over again on YouTube, and per usual, people are seeing-in that video-what they want to see.
This is a man who was being arrested on a domestic violence incident...and for some reason, multiple officers tried to subdue the suspect, when they reach the car, the man opens the driver’s side door and lunges in..
And that was obviously a move that the officer immediately behind him- who had his gun drawn on him the entire walk over to the vehicle....
That move to reach into the car was one that the officer found as a potential threat. So he opened fire, shooting the suspect in the back six times.
The man-is not dead. Those very same officers then pulled him out of the car and gave the aide that they could before ambulances alive. They gave life-saving measures.
But –with all sorts of people out in the neighborhood...and gawkers...this was caught on tape and immediately spun as: white Kenosha cops shot an innocent black man in the back.
The man has been identified as 29 year old Jacob Blake, and his defenders simply see him reacting into the car and getting shot in the back for no reason.
Those of us who might be a bit more dispassionate, see a man who was likely told ahead of time-not to make any sudden moves or enter the car and he did.
As he approached the driver’s side door, he made a quick move to open it and get inside.Officers were clearly on high alert and considered him a danger, or they wouldn’t’ have had their guns drawn..
And they cannot know what he’s lunging for.There could have easily been a gun under the seat or in the counsel that Blake was making a move for.
Officers simply cannot take that chance.
The lead officer tried to grab him at the last minute and keep him out of the car but he only got ahold of the back of his t-shirt and when Blake continued his determined move to get into the car, the police shot.
It is-absolutely- a video that needs more explanation, and one in which the general public should be giving the officers the benefit of the doubt. We need to know the larger story, which should be forthcoming-and which frankly-the Kenosha chief should have put out almost immediately.
The Kenosha police department is being tight lipped about this- and we don’t have any details on what sort of incident we were really seeing on video...or why Jacob Blake was marched over to the car...or what the officers were worried about as he tried to lunge inside.
We simply need more facts.
But some members of Kenosha’s black community decided not to wait...and formed protests and by the time the sun went down...there were clashes with police occurring. Some businesses were targeted and got their windows smashed. Several fires were caught on video, including two garbage trucks that were set on fire.
Those trucks had been moved to block off some streets near the Kenosha police department. Officers were called out in a show of force as either the chief or the mayor issued a 10pm curfew order that lasts until seven this morning.
This was an immediate and focused attempt to limit the rioting, which was a good move.
But some of the video on YouTube and Facebook is dramatic. You can hear gunshots being fired off, etc.
We don’t’ know the extent of the damage done to any businesses or private property yet but...this was a dramatic night.
The local TV stations are stopping their video before the actual shooting occurs but there are several good versions of the video on Facebook...if you just go there and type in Kenosha...they’ll pop up.
I’m not seeing this thru the prism of a black person, obviously, butwhat i see isa man making a quick move to lung into a carand an officer who –at the very least-cannot take a chance that this man can get to a weapon in that car.
My take is-at the very least-we need more information before going off half-cocked one way or the other.
It looks like a defensible shoot, to me, already...given how Jacob Blake acted.
But at the very least-we need more information.
So imagine my disappointment when our governor, the always useless Tony Evers and his socialist progressive handlers, decided to jump the gun and indict the cops in the court of public opinion before they had heard the facts.
Our governor (or at least his handlers, like Maggie Gau) decided it was more important to play politics with this shooting and immediately feed the flames of protest rioting.
Evers’ office put out a statement:
"Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha. Kathy and I join his family, friends and neighbors in hoping earnestly that he will not succumb to his injuries. While we do not have all the details yet, what we know for certain is 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 in our country.
We stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equality and accountability for Black lives in our country -- lives like those of George Floyd, of Breonna Taylor, Tony Robinson, Denise Hamilton, Earnest Lacy, and Sylville Smith. And we stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites.
I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy, equally important is our action. In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.”
Now...Evers’ lefty chimps probably think that was a firm, yet defensible statement.
But it’s an inflammatory statement.The governor goes out of his way to use the term ‘mercilessly killed’.That phrase alone, colors the statement and causes readers to make assumptions.
It would have been better if the governor had not put out a statement at all, or would have simply put one out that urged calm and made it clear we need more facts. a full investigation will occur.
Period.
That statement-would have exhibited leadership.
This statement that Evers did put out- is cheap political theater and he and his team- yet again- prove that they have no interest in being rational and reasonable –leaders.
But instead want to use their positions of power to engage in left wing political games and propaganda.
That statement is a disgrace.
but as for the actual shooting-here again we have a man whoappears to not have followed the officer’s orders...and since this isn’t some TV show or movie....that officer behind him did what he was trained to do: protect himself , those other officers, and the public from an agitated and potentially dangerous suspect.
That is how a layman is going to view this video-outside of the urban community.
Photo credit: Fox 6 News Milwaukee