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Lawyer says Jacob Blake not likely to walk again after police shooting

Protesters walk past police with their arms up, late Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis., as a building burns in the background. Protests have erupted following the police shooting of Jacob Blake a day earlier. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The family attorney for Black man shot by police in Wisconsin said Tuesday that Jacob Blake is paralyzed and it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again.

The shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday in Kenosha, apparently in the back, was captured on cellphone video and ignited new protests over racial injustice in several cities, just three months after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police touched off a wider reckoning on race.

“They
shot my son seven times, seven times, like he didn’t matter,” said
Blake’s father, who is also named Jacob Blake and who spoke to reporters
alongside other family members and lawyers. “But my son matters. He’s a
human being and he matters.”

The 29-year-old was in surgery, said
attorney Ben Crump Crump, adding that the bullets severed Blake’s
spinal cord and shattered his vertebrae.

“It’s going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again,” Crump said.

Another
Blake family attorney said they would be filing a civil lawsuit against
the police department over the shooting. Police have said little about
what happened, other than that they were responding to a domestic
dispute. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating.

After
a night during which protests devolved into unrest, Wisconsin Gov. Tony
Evers called for calm, while also saying the National Guard presence
would be doubled from 125 to 250 in Kenosha. Crowds destroyed dozens of
buildings and set more than 30 fires on Monday night.

“We cannot
allow the cycle of systemic racism and injustice to continue,” said
Evers, who is facing mounting pressure from Republicans over his
handling of the unrest that has followed the shooting. “We also cannot
continue going down this path of damage and destruction.”

Blake’s
mother, Julia Jackson, said the damage in Kenosha does not reflect the
feelings of her family and if her son could see it, he would be “very
unpleased.”

Three of the younger Blake’s sons — aged 3, 5 and 8 —
were in the car at the time of the shooting, Crump said. It was the
8-year-old’s birthday, Crump said.

Blake’s father is slated to
speak at a March on Washington commemoration on Friday organized by the
Rev. Al Sharpton. His father and the victim’s grandfather, Jacob Blake
Sr., was a prominent minister and civil rights leader in the Chicago
area in the 1960s.

The man who said he made the cellphone video of
the shooting, 22-year-old Raysean White, said he saw Blake scuffling
with three officers and heard them yell, “Drop the knife! Drop the
knife!” before the gunfire erupted. He said he didn’t see a knife in
Blake’s hands.

In the footage, Blake walks from the sidewalk
around the front of his SUV to his driver-side door as officers follow
him with their guns drawn and shout at him. As Blake opens the door and
leans into the SUV, an officer grabs his shirt from behind and opens
fire while Blake has his back turned. Seven shots can be heard, though
it isn’t clear how many struck Blake or how many officers fired.

Since
the shooting, anger has spilled into the streets of Kenosha and other
cities, including Los Angeles, Wisconsin’s capital of Madison and in
Minneapolis, the epicenter of the Black Lives Matter movement this
summer following Floyd’s death.

Hundreds of protesters defied an 8
p.m. curfew Monday night, massing in downtown Kenosha, where they were
met by a wall of law enforcement officers, including 125 members of the
Wisconsin National Guard.

Some clashed with officers and
vandalized businesses. There were 34 fires associated with the unrest,
with 30 businesses destroyed or damaged along with an unknown number of
residences, Kenosha Fire Chief Charles Leipzig told the Kenosha News.

One
of the buildings destroyed was the Wisconsin Department of Corrections’
probation and parole office. Most staff had already transitioned to
working remotely, and all essential operations are continuing, said
department spokeswoman Anna Neal.

A city block was cordoned off
Tuesday so officials could survey damage. Smoke filled the air and
visibility was low as firefighters used water cannons on still
smoldering buildings.

“Nobody deserves this,” said Pat Oertle,
owner of Computer Adventure. Computers were stolen, and the store was
“destroyed,” she said.

“This accomplishes nothing,” Oertle said. “This is not justice that they’re looking for.”

U.S.
Sen. Ron Johnson and U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, both Republicans, called on
the governor to do more to quell the unrest. Steil said he would
request federal assistance if necessary.

A Wisconsin state
lawmaker said Evers, who is white, and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is
Black, encouraged violence with their comments after the shooting.

“They
did not call for peace. They did not encourage calm,” Republican state
Sen. Howard Marklein said. “They did encourage people to jump to
conclusions and take negative action.”

Evers continued to call for protesters to be peaceful.

“Please
do not allow the actions of a few distract us from the work we must do
together to demand justice, equity, and accountability,” he said.

In
Madison, about 500 protesters marched to the state Capitol on Monday
night, and some broke windows, stole from stores and sprayed graffiti
along the way. Police used tear gas and pepper spray on the crowds and
six people were arrested, according to Madison police.

In Minneapolis, 11 were arrested after breaking windows at the county jail on Monday night. One police officer suffered a broken hand in an altercation with demonstrators, the sheriff’s department said.

Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin. Associated Press reporters Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis, Aaron Morrison in New York, and Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan, contributed.