Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 8-28-20

Political
'It's A Miracle He's Still
Louisiana Officials Launch Investigation Into Fatal Police Involved Shooting Of Black Man
Alive': Jacob Blake, Father Of
Six, In Stable Condition
Jacob Blake, the 29-year- old Black man shot multiple times in the back by a Kenosha police officer, underwent surgery Sunday night and was in stable condition Monday, his family and attorney said.
A bystander's video of the in- cident appears to show the offi- cer grab Blake by the back of his shirt as he tried to get into a small SUV, then shoot him seven times at point-blank range. The shooting led to unrest in Kenosha on Sunday night.
"We all watched the horrific video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back several times by Kenosha police," nationally known civil rights attorney Ben- jamin Crump said in a news re- lease.
"Even worse, his three sons witnessed their father collapse after being riddled with bullets," said Crump, who is represent- ing Blake. "It's a miracle he's still alive."
In an interview later Monday, Crump said Blake remained in stable condition.
JACOB BLAKE
mished with protesters during a second night of unrest over the wounding of a Black man shot in the back by police as his three children looked on.
The door was broken from its hinges, but police in riot gear drove the demonstrators back by dousing some with pepper spray.
Shortly after nightfall, scores of protesters defying a dusk-to-dawn curfew massed outside the courthouse, shouting and tossing water bottles at a line of sheriff’s deputies, who re- sponded with volleys of tear gas and pepper balls.
A short time later, several truckloads of National Guard troops were seen rolling into the center of town about a block away. Local media reported that exit ramps leading into the city from an Interstate-94 had been closed to traffic.
Blake, 29, was listed in stable condition following surgery, his father told news media on Mon- day. His three young sons wit- nessed the shooting from just a few feet away while sitting in their car, according to the family attorney, Ben Crump.
State officials in Louisiana on Saturday launched an in- vestigation into the death of Trayford Pellerin, a 31- year-old Black man who was fatally shot by Lafayette Police Department officers.
The Louisiana State Police said in a statement that a pre- liminary investigation found that Lafayette officers first en- countered Pellerin after re- sponding to a report that someone was at a convenience store armed with a knife. Those officers attempted to de- tain Pellerin after finding him in the parking lot of the convenience store, prompting Pellerin to flee, state police said.
A foot pursuit ensued, ac-
TRAYFORD PELLERIN
cording to the state police, and local officers "deployed Tasers as they pursued Pellerin, but they were ineffective."
The local officers discharged
their firearms as Pellerin tried to enter the convenience store, and Pellerin was struck by the gunfire before being transported to a local hospital, where he was later pro- nounced dead, state police said.
The Louisiana State Police offered no additional details on the incident, noting that its probe remained "active."
Video captured by a by- stander showed at least six of- ficers trailing Pellerin as he walked toward a gas station. Several shots were heard ring- ing out as Pellerin neared the convenience store and he fell to the pavement. Police fired 11 gun shots, according to The Daily Advertiser.
“At this point, we’re still wait- ing for the facts to be confirmed,” Crump told the Journal Sen- tinel. “But we know what we saw in that video, and it was clearly an excessive use of force that was shocking and outrageous and devastating and nobody’s more devastated than his three sons.”
Wisconsin Calls Out National Guard After Unrest Over Police Shooting Of Black Man
KENOSHA, Wis. - Wiscon- sin’s governor called out the Na- tional Guard on Monday, and police in the city of Kenosha skir-
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