Jacob Blake Speaks Out: “Change y’all lives out there” [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• In a newly shared video, Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old Black man who was shot by the Kenosha police seven times, said that he was experiencing excruciating pain all day long.
• Addressing the public, Blake said: I’m telling you: Change y’all lives out there. We can stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people out here.”
• During a virtual court proceeding on Friday, Blake pleaded not guilty against the criminal charges thrown against him.

In a recently released video recorded straight from his hospital bed, Jacob Blake said he was under excruciating pain after being shot in the back seven times by Kenosha police in Wisconsin on August 23.

Blake cautioned the public that life can change in a snap. In a nearly one-minute video, Blake said, “Your life and not only just your life, your legs ― something that you need to move around and move forward in life ― could be taken from you like this,” as he snaps his fingers.

The 29-year-old Black man said that he feels “nothing but pain” all day, having staples in his back and stomach.

“You do not want to have to deal with this shit, man,” he said, adding that: “It’s nothing but pain. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to sleep. It hurts to move from side to side. It hurts to eat.”

“Please, I’m telling you: Change y’all lives out there. We can stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people out here, man. Because so much time has been wasted,” Blake continued.

According to his father, Blake’s body was paralyzed from his waist down after obtaining seven shots from Officer Rusten Sheskey of the Kenosha Police Department.

In a video posted online, two cops were seen aiming their guns at Blake as he approached an SUV through the driver’s side. Sheskey grabbed Blake’s back as he opened the door, firing seven shots. Onlookers could be heard screaming as Sheskey opened fire. His three children, all minors, were sitting inside the SUV when he got shot.

In a statement, police said that officers were asked to respond to a “reported domestic incident.” The Chicago Sun-Times reported, as told by witnesses, that Blake was attempting to avoid a scuffle with the police.

Based on a criminal complaint filed by the Kenosha County District Attorney’s office, Blake allegedly broke into his former partner’s home on May 3. He was accused of sexually assaulting her, stealing her debit card and vehicle. An arrest warrant was issued last July 7.

Blake pleaded not guilty to three criminal charges ━ trespassing, sexual assault, and disorderly conduct during a virtual court proceeding on Friday.

Blake’s shooting fueled protests in Kenosha and across the country, including Minneapolis, where George Floyd died while in police custody on May 25.

Source: Huffington Post