Mar. 25, 2021 8p
(WGTD)---A federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the attorneys for Jacob Blake against the Kenosha police officer who shot him seven times last summer includes a key contradiction.
In the suit, Blake claims he had dropped the knife Officer Rusten Sheskey says he was holding just before Sheskey fired.
Blake says the knife landed on the floorboard of the driver’s side of the vehicle where he’d been sitting. But Sheskey says Blake still had the knife as he was turning toward him. And that’s one of the reasons why Sheskey says he fired his gun.
If the case goes to trial, it’ll be up to a jury to debate which version is more believable.
The excessive-use-of-force lawsuit says Blake is permanently paralyzed as a result of the seven shots into his back and side.
Blake is asking for an unspecified amount of both punitive and compensatory damages.
At last report, Sheskey remains on leave.
Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced in January that no criminal charges would be filed against Sheskey.
The U.S. Attorney’s office has yet to release the results of its investigation.
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