Community leaders and activists are demanding answers from Kenosha authorities in the shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday and the double fatal shooting during protests on Tuesday night. NBC 5’s Chris Hush reports
The American Civil Liberties Union has called for the resignation of the Kenosha County sheriff and the chief of the Kenosha Police Department following the police shooting of Jacob Blake and the fatal shootings of two protesters.
According to the ACLU, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth and his department allowed the suspect in Tuesday night's shooting, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, to leave as people yelled that he was the shooter.
"The sheriff excused this by saying his deputies may not have paid attention to the gunman because there were many distractions, including 'screaming' and 'hollering,' people running, police vehicles idling, 'nonstop radio traffic,' and that 'in situations that are high stress, you have such an incredible tunnel vision,'" according to a news release from the ACLU of Wisconsin.
The nonprofit also claimed that in a news conference following the fatal shooting, KPD Chief Daniel Miskinis blamed the unidentified victims for their own deaths, saying the violence was the result of the “persons” involved violating curfew.
"Their actions uphold and defend white supremacy, while demonizing people who were murdered for exercising their First Amendment rights and speaking out against police violence,” Chris Ott, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, said in the news release. “The only way to rectify these actions is for both Sheriff Beth and Police Chief Daniel Miskinis to immediately tender their resignations.”
Several days of unrest and protests erupted following the Sunday night shooting of Blake by a Kensoha police officer, an incident that sparked national outrage.
