Activists in Kenosha say they are hurt and disappointed by the decision not to take anything on Jacob Blake

Sheskey, a white officer, shot Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, as he was responding to a domestic incident on August 23, 2020. Blake survived the shooting but was paralyzed from the waist down.

“The city of Kenosha has abandoned the city of Kenosha,” said Gregory Bennett Jr., founder of the activist organization. Peace in the streets Kenosha Inc. “Kenosha does not love the citizens as the citizens of Kenosha like.”

The day after the shooting prompted the state government to set up a task force on racial differences. But over the past few months, little has been done to address the community’s distrust of the police.

The city approved immediate funding for officers’ body cameras in November 2020. This week, state and local officials released statements calling for their unity in Kenosha and police reform to follow the decision of Michael Graveley, district attorney in Kenosha. .

Some in the community say it is not enough.

Porche Bennett-Bey, a Kenosha activist and one of Time Magazine’s guardians of the year 2020, told CNN.

Activists call for Sheskey to end

Sheskey and the other officers involved in Blake’s shooting were placed on administrative leave after the shooting.

From Tuesday, Kenosha police said all officers remain on administrative leave.

Some activists have said they wish there was some sort of indictment, especially since Blake was shot in front of his children.

“They could at least charge him (Sheskey) with excessive violence or something,” Bennett-Bey said. “They did not charge him.”

Others said they wanted the police to fire Sheskey.

“I had some conversations with the family about considering a complaint to investigate the officer,” activist Vaun Mayes said.

Graveley, the district attorney, pointed out during his news conference on Tuesday that Blake had a knife – and said Sheskey was using the right amount of force in the situation.

CNN reached out to the city of Kenosha and its police department and asked for comments from Mayor John Antaramian and Daniel Miskinis, police chief.

A city spokesman issued a joint statement from the city and police department to CNN on January 5, saying all officers were still on administrative leave.

However, Antaramian and Miskinis appeared in a video posted on Kenosha Police’s YouTube page on Tuesday, in which they discuss their plans to improve the city’s relationship with the community.

“Before the incident on August 23, we were on a road trip here where we brought citizens together and had honest discussions about the future in our community. I can assure you that the mission will continue,” Antaramian said in the video.

Miskinis said police use should be investigated.

“There is an identified need in this country to work harder on police-community relations,” he said. “Here in Kenosha, we are committed to doing better and forging better relationships and increasing trust.”

Although local officials delivered messages of peace and unity, activists said their actions before the district attorney’s decision spoke louder than words.

“They have called the national guard here for peaceful protesters,” Bennet said, referring to the Government of Wisconsin Tony Evers, who mobilized 500 national troops at the request of local officials. “You have all these laws that protect officers, but no laws that protect citizens.”

Task team is described as ‘dog and pony’

Even before Blake’s shooting incident, Democrat Evers, a Democrat, tried to persuade the legislature to discuss and act on criminal law reform.

Evers and Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes announced a package of nine bills in June last year to reform police accountability and transparency. The announcement was in direct response to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, according to Evers’ statement.
A day after Blake’s shooting, Evers called lawmakers to hold a special hearing. scheduled for 31 August 2020 to address the topics more immediately. However, according to CNN subsidiary WDJT-TV, the state republics started and reduced the session in both chambers within 30 seconds.
Instead of a special session, the Republican House of Representatives, Robin Vos, announced the establishment of the Task Force on Racial Differences. In October, he announced that four lawmakers and 28 community members would be on the task force.

“We know that Wisconsin can listen and learn through each other,” Vos said in a statement.

Wayne Strong, a member of the task force and retired Madison police officer, told the Kenosha News newspaper that he remembered someone saying at the first meeting in October, “I do not want to be part of a dog and pony show. not.”

Bennet told CNN meetings don’t really mean anything to him.

“We can hold a meeting, but it’s nothing if nothing comes out of the meeting,” he said.

Bennett-Bey said she goes to many meetings and hearings, but she said the community needs to be more involved in the legislation.

“Either you will hear us as we take to the streets, or we will hear at these meetings,” she said.

Blake family plans to move to DC

Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr., said the family did not expect any charges when the national guard was called.

Blake’s family and supporters have vowed to take their fight to Washington, DC, following the district attorney’s announcement.

“Now we must be fighting before Congress, it must go before the Senate,” Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr., told a news conference Tuesday.

“We are going to protest straight into the offices. We are going to see Nancy (Pelosi) first … then we are going to see the Senate until we are seen, until we are heard.”

Kenosha activist Vaun Mayes, Gregory Bennett Jr.  and Porche Bennett-Bey

Bishop Tavis Grant, the national field director of Rainbow PUSH, a non-profit organization in Chicago, led by Rev. Jesse Jackson, founded, told CNN he and the Blake family plan to be ‘proactive and not reactive’.

“Those who want to take up arms have failed in the realization of civil rights, have not taken lives, it is about saving lives,” Grant said.

At home, activists have said they are still seeking change for the community.

“Everyone who walked, everyone who worked, everyone pushed people to go to the polls and everyone who pushed people to do something felt like it was free,” Bennett said.

“Everyone who really had a voice and felt they were being heard was spat at. If you want us to be heard, you have to put the pen to paper and start writing and changing these laws that protect citizens.”

CNS’s Kelsie Smith, Omar Jimenez, Kay Jones, Nicole Chavez and Madeline Holcombe contributed to this report.

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