• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Attorney for Kenosha officer says shooting was also out of fear child in back seat was being kidnapped

Mother: 'He's got my kid, He's got my keys'

Kenosha officer

Officer Rusten Sheskey (Kenosha Police Department)

September 25, 2020
Law OfficerbyLaw Officer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

Sept. 25, 2020

KENOSHA, Wis. — Police Officer Rusten Sheskey has told investigators that it wasn’t just his life he was defending when he fired his weapon seven times at Jacob Blake last month in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He said he used deadly force during the chaotic encounter because he was afraid Blake, while attempting to flee the scene, was trying to kidnap a child in the backseat of the vehicle, CNN reported.

“He’s got my kid. He’s got my keys,” Sheskey heard a woman say, according to attorney Brendan Matthews, who is representing the officer. If Sheskey had allowed Blake to drive away and something happened to the child “the question would have been ‘why didn’t you do something?'” Matthews said.

That explanation, provided in an exclusive interview with CNN, offers the most detailed rationale to date for Sheskey’s highly scrutinized decision to shoot Blake, who is Black, as he leaned into an SUV with his children inside it on August 23. Cellphone video of the shooting went viral on the internet, sparking days of protests and rioting in the lakeside city of Kenosha. The shooting, which Blake’s family has said resulted in paralysis from his waist down, was widely condemned by uninformed people as yet another unjustified shooting of a Black person by police.

  • KENOSHA POLICE UNION PROVIDES ACCOUNT OF JACOB BLAKE SHOOTING

The attorney’s comments to CNN come as authorities in Wisconsin announced this week that the results of an investigation by the state Department of Justice would soon be turned over to a retired police chief serving as an independent consultant for his review. The consultant is in turn expected to forward the case to local prosecutors along with an analysis intended to help determine whether criminal charges against Sheskey are warranted. The officer remains on paid administrative leave.

Rusten Sheskey
Rusten Sheskey (Kenosha Police Department)

Matthews told CNN he typically does not talk about pending cases but said he felt compelled to provide some additional detail to counter what he described as an “incomplete, inaccurate” narrative that has emerged to date. Matthews directly disputed assertions by Blake’s family and lawyers that he was unarmed and posed no threat to the officers.

At the time Sheskey opened fire, the lawyer said, Blake held a knife in his hand and twisted his body toward the officer. That action is not visible in the video widely circulating on the Internet, in which the view of Blake’s body is partially obscured by the driver’s side door of the SUV.

Matthews said a second officer at the scene, whom he also represents, provided investigators with a similar account of Blake turning toward Sheskey with a knife in his hand immediately prior to the shooting. That officer said he too would have opened fire but did not have a clear angle, according to the lawyer.

  • DETAILS BEHIND JACOB BLAKE’S ARREST WARRANT

Authorities have said Blake had a knife in his possession and the weapon was found on the floorboard of the vehicle. But they have released few other details of the incident, citing the ongoing investigation.

CNN reached out to Blake’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, for comment on Matthews’ assertions, but did not receive a response prior to publication.

 


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Brendan MatthewsKenosha Police DepartmentRusten Sheskey
Law Officer

Law Officer

Law Officer is the only major law enforcement publication and website owned and operated by law enforcement—for law enforcement and supporters of justice, law, and order. This unique facet makes Law Officer much more than just a publishing company, but a true advocate for the law enforcement profession.

Related Posts

bans MSNBC

Judge bans MSNBC from Rittenhouse trial after producer accused of following jury bus

November 18, 2021
tempers flare

Tempers flare as protesters arrested outside Kenosha courthouse

November 18, 2021
Rusten Sheskey

Feds decline prosecution of Kenosha police officer involved in Jacob Blake shooting

October 8, 2021
Jacob Blake Shooting anniversary

Jacob Blake Shooting Anniversary: The Media’s Continued Push of a False Narrative

August 23, 2021
Jacob Blake

Kenosha officials reject Jacob Blake’s claim for damages

June 26, 2021
Kenosha district attorney

Kenosha District Attorney Debunks False Media Claims in Jacob Blake Shooting

January 5, 2021
Load More

Latest Articles

California officer

Atlanta police looking for killer after Subway worker put ‘too much mayonnaise on a sandwich’

June 27, 2022
Curtis Kimbrough

Florida kidnap suspect killed after pursuit, gun battle with deputies

June 27, 2022
California inmates

California inmates accused of murdering fellow prisoner

June 27, 2022
furious airline passenger

Video shows furious airline passenger push girlfriend out of the way and punch airport worker

June 26, 2022
Jeann Lugo

Officer suspends campaign for state Senate after he’s charged with assaulting opponent

June 26, 2022
Darlene Brister

Woman charged with murder after four children die in house fire

June 26, 2022
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

MUST READ

Curtis Kimbrough

Florida kidnap suspect killed after pursuit, gun battle with deputies

June 27, 2022
Houston Tipping

LAPD officer who died was beaten in training meant to ‘simulate a mob,’ mother says in wrongful death claim

June 26, 2022
Vermont State Police

Troopers threatened with excavator while making arrest

June 25, 2022
Jeremiah Story

Arkansas detention officer shot and killed by suspect who retained gun while getting booked into jail

June 24, 2022
US Supreme Court

SCOTUS rules that police cannot be sued for Miranda violations

June 23, 2022
Load More

JOIN THE FIGHT

SAFEGUARD RECRUITING

Police Officers Needed – Entry level and lateral applicants wanted!

February 14, 2022

Deputy Sheriff

February 3, 2022

Dispatcher

January 25, 2022

Deputy Sheriff (POST Certified)

January 25, 2022

BE COURAGEOUS

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2021 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2021 LawOfficer.com