Source: Jacob Blake Family / Handout
After being viciously shot in the back 7 times by a Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer, Jacob Blake has finally broken his silence.
In a video shared by Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump on Saturday evening (Sept.5), Blake spoke from his hospital bed, urging people to value their lives while delivering a message of hope. He also details the pain he is still currently enduring weeks after being shot multiple times in the back. The 29-year-old father of six began his message stating, “Your life, and not only just your life, your legs, can be taken from you like this,” he continued “I just want to say, to all the young cats out there and even the older ones, there’s a lot more life to live out here, man.”
Blake shared in detail how painful it is just doing everyday things like breathing and eating due to his current condition of being paralyzed from the waist down with staples in his stomach and back. He closed out his statement asking for unity.
“We can stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people.”
Since the shooting that took place on August 23, investigations have been launched separately by the Justice Department and Wisconsin state officials, The Hill reported. Blake’s shooter, officer Rusten Sheskey was identified in a statement from Wisconsin Attorney General, Josh Kaul. Sheskey has been put on administrative leave. Blake’s shooting set off another wave of demonstrations and protests that not only took place on streets across the United States but on the basketball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, and football fields across professional sports.
The call for justice for Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor, and countless others continues. You can watch his video statement in full below.
Photo: Jacob Blake Family / Handout
