Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala D. Harris said that while she doesn’t have all the evidence in the Jacob Blake shooting, the officer involved should be charged based on what she has seen.
Ms. Harris was asked if there was a scenario in which the officer would have been justified in firing his weapon.
“I don’t see it, but I don’t have all the evidence,” Ms. Harris said in an interview that aired on NBC’s “Today” program on Friday.
“The man was going to his car — he didn’t appear to be armed. And if he was not armed, the use of force that was seven bullets coming out of a gun at close range in the back of the man — I don’t see how anybody could reason that that was justifiable,” she said.
“I think that there should be a thorough investigation and based on what I’ve seen, it seems that the officer should be charged,” said Ms. Harris, a senator from California.
She said everyone should be afforded due process.
“But here’s the thing: In America, we know these cases keep happening, and we have had too many Black men in America who have been the subject of this kind of conduct, and it’s got to stop,” said Ms. Harris, the first woman of color to be on a major-party presidential ticket.
Mr. Blake, 29, was shot in the back by a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer on Sunday. The shooting has sparked deadly protests and violence; two people were shot to death in Wisconsin this week in the aftermath.
Officer Rusten Sheskey, who officials say shot Mr. Blake, has been put on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Wisconsin authorities said that agents recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of Mr. Blake’s car.
Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Mr. Blake’s family, said Mr. Blake didn’t do anything to provoke police and that witnesses said he was not in possession of a knife and didn’t threaten officers in any way.
Democrats have faced accusations that they’re siding with unruly mobs, and against law enforcement, during the summer of protests and rioting following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a Black man, while in Minneapolis police custody.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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