As new information continues to emerge in the police shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer earlier this week, officials are urging the public to be patient, assuring residents that a careful and methodical investigation into the shooting is taking place.
The shooting, which took place Sunday, involved Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey, who fired his weapon seven times during a confrontation with Blake. According to police, officers were attempting to arrest Blake and tried to subdue him with a taser during the incident.
When Blake leaned forward into his vehicle, Sheskey opened fire, according to a statement from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
NBC News has not been able to independently confirm the information provided by Kenosha police or the Wisconsin DOJ.
Following the press release on the case, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael D. Graveley laid out the steps that will follow in the investigation of the shooting.
Currently, the investigation has been turned over to the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation. By law, all police-involved usage of firearms or any incident that results in the death of an individual during an interaction with police are automatically investigated by the DCI, and that is what is currently occurring with the Blake case.
When the DCI completes its investigation, the evidence is then turned over to the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office. That office is tasked with determining whether the officers involved in the case committed any crimes, and whether those crimes can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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If those standards are both fulfilled, then the DA’s office will file criminal charges, according to Graveley.
“The best way to go about getting justice is to have a full, thorough and vigorous investigation,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said.
In laying out the stages of the investigation, the DA emphasized the need for patience on the part of Kenosha citizens, saying that the DCI and the DA’s office must be given adequate time to complete a thorough investigation into the shooting.
“I ask for as much patience as our times allow,” he said. “We have to facilitate a full and complete investigation. I know DCI is doing all they can to accomplish that.”
Graveley also announced that the DA’s office has requested a full civil rights investigation into the shooting.
