State Of Emergency Curfew Declared In Kenosha For Monday Night

KENOSHA, WI — Kenosha County has once again declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew for Monday night, one day after 29-year-old Jacob Blake was shot and severely wounded by Kenosha police.

County officials have imposed an 8 p.m. curfew for all county properties east of I-94. Police will require all people off the streets until 7 a.m. Tuesday. National Guard members were also expected in town by 3 p.m. to help stave off any further protests or potential destruction, authorities said. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said there will be 125 guard members present to help "guard infrastructure."

In a statement Monday afternoon, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said his office will "unwaveringly pursue justice in this case."

"I hope for a full recovery for the man fighting for his life," he said in a statement. "He and his family are in my thoughts as is the entire Kenosha community."

Related Coverage

• 'It Hurts': Neighbors Recount Jacob Blake Kenosha Police Shooting
• Jacob Blake Police Shooting: Wisconsin Leaders, Officials Respond
• Kenosha Police Shooting Of Jacob Blake 'Excessive Force': Biden
• National Guard Called To Kenosha Following Jacob Blake Shooting
• Kenosha Hit By Damage After Jacob Blake Police Shooting: Photos

Kaul said his office is working with the Kenosha County District Attorney's office and will do so throughout the case as it pertains to weighing of criminal charges against those involved.

An eyewitness posted video of the police shooting on Twitter. (As a caution to viewers, the content of the video contains graphic and dramatic footage.)

In the video, Blake is seen walking away from officers around a parked SUV. The video shows Blake with his back turned and officers pointing guns at him. At one point in the video, Blake is seen opening the SUV's driver's door.

A moment later, the video captures an officer trying to hold Blake's shirt. Video shows Blake pulling away, and several officers firing multiple gunshots at him. Video shows Blake collapsing into the driver's seat of the car.

Blake is currently in intensive care at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee after he was transported there Sunday via Flight for Life.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden issued a statement calling for the officers involved to be held accountable, and Mark Meadows, chief of staff to President Donald Trump, told reporters the president would be briefed on the incident later Monday.

"His children watched from inside the car and bystanders watched in disbelief. And this morning, the nation wakes up yet again with grief and outrage that yet another Black American is a victim of excessive force. This calls for an immediate, full and transparent investigation and the officers must be held accountable," Biden said.

"These shots pierce the soul of our nation," he said.

Protesters overnight took to the streets of Kenosha, with some causing damage at a scale beyond what local residents on the street Monday morning could ever recall seeing.

Local authorities parked garbage trucks to the left and right of the courthouse along 56th Street to help guard the public building from further damage.

Armed police in riot gear stood before the front steps of the Kenosha County Courthouse, which was closed Monday for safety precautions.

On Monday morning, the burned-out hulks of several garbage trucks remained. Others had smashed-out windows.

The Kenosha County Administrative Building just west of the courthouse had its storefront windows smashed in. Workers from Rasch Construction swept up the glass, ever mindful that pepper bullets were mixed in with the shards. "It'd ruin your morning," one worker told Patch as he was sweeping up the front walk.

A block south, workers were hurriedly boarding up the first-floor windows of Reuther Central High School in the event Monday night sees more unrest.

Mangia Wine Bar, just south of the courthouse at 5717 Sheridan Road, had closed in January just before the COVID-19 pandemic. The building was torched and smashed during the overnight unrest, leaving a charred restaurant space and wrecked storefront as shards of glass lay on the ground Monday.

The most dramatic of all the damage from overnight occurred at the Car Source used car dealership a block farther south at 59th Street and Sheridan Road. The car lot, which typically held about 50 cars at the busy downtown intersection, was destroyed as some protesters set the entire car lot's inventory ablaze late Sunday into early Monday.

Fire crews walked among the charred frames of cars, trucks and SUVs as bystanders looked in astonishment at the extent of the damage.

Several police cars sustained smashed windows and body damage in the unrest overnight.

The courthouse on Monday had been tagged in black and red graffiti, much of which was profane and directed against law enforcement.

A message written on the courthouse's south facade read, "They kill us because they fear us. Honor the dead."