The father of Jacob Blake, the Black man who was shot 7 times in the back by a Wisconsin cop, said his son was handcuffed to a hospital bed when he went to visit him on Wednesday.
Jacob Blake, Sr. said he was “heartbroken” to see his son laying there handcuffed to the bed.
“I hate it that he was laying in that bed with the handcuff onto the bed,” said the elder Blake, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “He can’t go anywhere. Why do you have him cuffed to the bed?”
Blake is paralyzed from the waist down, his father said. He is in police custody in the hospital where he is recovering from surgery earlier this week.
A spokesperson with the Froedtert Hospital, where Blake is recovering, deferred a reporter’s questions to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Blake, 29, was shot multiple times in the back and arm on Sunday, when Kenosha police officers attempted to detain him on an outstanding warrant for domestic assault and a sex crime.
Officers were called to the scene by Blake’s girlfriend, who said he wasn’t supposed to be there, according to the state Justice Dpartment.
Officers used a Taser on him, the state agency said in a news release Thursday, who added Blake was shot when he opened his driver-side door and leaned inside the vehicle.
Police recovered a knife from the driver-side floorboard of his SUV after the shooting. The state agency said Blake admitted having a knife in his possession.
The Kenosha officer who shot Blake was identified as Rusten Sheskey, who has been with the department for seven years.
Sheskey and another officer have been placed on paid administrative leave, authorities said.
Blake, Sr. said Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, reached out to the family.
When a reporter asked Evers if he was concerned about Blake’s restraints, he responded, “Hell, yes! I would have no personal understanding why that would be necessary. I can’t imagine why that’s happening and I would hope that we would be able to find a better way to have him get better and recover.”
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted Thursday that he spoke with Blake Sr. about his son.
“His first question after he woke up was, “Daddy, why did they shoot me so many times?” Yang tweeted. “He wept to his father. He has restraints on even though he can’t move his legs.”
“His father actually used the words ‘chains.’ He said my son is chained up,” Yang told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Yang tweeted: “When asked what message I could share on his family’s behalf, #JacobBlake Sr. said to me, ‘Tell them my son is a human being.'”
The shooting sparked 3 nights of violent protests in Kenosha, where 2 people were killed and another wounded after video footage shows they attacked 17-year-old Illinois resident Kyle Rittenhouse, who was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle.
Man, how did #KyleRittenhouse see a potential killer’s handgun that quickly in the dark, and make the life-or-death decision to defend himself? Astonishing situational awareness and courage. This kid is a poster hero for the Second Amendment. pic.twitter.com/NhtaHSBJKI
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 27, 2020
Rittenhouse is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.
Wisconsin is an open carry state, but Rittenhouse is a year under the legal age limit to open carry a firearm.
An Antioch, Illinois judge ordered Rittenhouse held without bail at a juvenile detention facility pending a hearing on Friday to determine whether he will be extradited to Kenosha County.
Famed Atlanta attorney Lin Wood offered to represent Rittenhouse for free after GoFundMe deleted a page launched by his father to pay his legal expenses.
Authorities say Wednesday night was peaceful in Kenosha, where a 7 p.m. curfew is in effect.
