Feb. 14, 2021 4:35p
(WGTD)---Nearly six months out from the incident, a nationally-known expert on policing says the shooting of Jacob Blake last summer raises legitimate, unanswered questions.
Seth Stoughton is a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and has authored numerous articles over the years on policing and how it's regulated. He also spent five years as an officer with the Tallahassee Police Dept.
Before being interviewed by WGTD, Stoughton studied the video of Blake being shot by Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey and reviewed the report prepared by Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley in which Graveley determined that any criminal charges filed against Sheskey could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Stoughton doesn't question Graveley's conclusion, but he does have questions about the tactics that were used at the scene. "One of the big tactical questions is why officers remained in close proximity to someone they knew to be armed with a knife," Stoughton said. "Indeed why did they follow him around the front of the car? Why did officers put their hands on Mr. Blake as he was getting into the car knowing or believing that he was armed with a knife at the time?", he asked.
Officers, for their safety and others, are generally trained to keep a distance from someone who might be armed, Stoughton said. "Although I don't think I can say for sure that better tactics might have avoided the shooting, I think I can say that better tactics would've decreased the likelihood of the need to use (near) deadly force," Stoughton said.
According to Graveley's report, officers were dispatched on a report of a disturbance that involved some car keys and the mother of Blake's children. On the way there, they learned that the alleged antagonist, Blake, had a felony warrant for his arrest.
Almost immediately, the interaction between Blake, Sheskey and two other officers who were there turned violent. Blake was tazed three times with no visible effect. He then tussled on the ground with Sheskey. The video shows Blake, who was armed with a knife, running around an SUV and getting behind the wheel. Sheskey grabs Blake's shirt. Blake appears to turn slightly toward Sheskey, and that's when Sheskey shoots Blake seven times in the back and side. Sheskey said he fired out of concern for his own safety and for the welfare of the children should a hostage situation develop if Blake would've been allowed to flee.
Stoughton said Graveley's decision to pass on charges against Sheskey was the correct one. "The ethical obligation requires prosecutors to not bring cases unless they think in good faith that they can prove the crime, prove guilt, beyond a reasonable doubt," Stoughton said.
Graveley's decision was based in part on a belief that Blake's past interactions with police could be introduced as evidence in a trial and be used to undermine the state's case. Those contacts included an incident in Cook County in which Blake reportedly swung a knife at officers. The incident did not lead to charges.
Stoughton said he believed such past history would not have been relevant in a criminal case against Sheskey because what would've mattered was Sheskey's knowledge of any incidents at the time of the shooting.
Sheskey remains on administrative leave while an internal investigation proceeds. The two officers who played a lesser role in the incident have been allowed to return to duty. The U.S. Attorney's office continues to investigate for potential civil rights violations. Blake's attorneys have said they planned to file some type of civil action. Blake, who was paralyzed from the waist down, is continuing to undergo therapy.
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