Wisconsin DOJ Names 2 Other Officers In Jacob Blake Shooting

KENOSHA, WI — The Wisconsin Department of Justice named two more Kenosha police officers involved in Sunday's police shooting of Jacob Blake.

In a statement released early Friday morning by the Wisconsin DOJ, Kenosha officers Vincent Arenas and Brittany Meronek were named as being present at the scene Sunday but did not fire their weapons. The DOJ also said Rusten Sheskey was the officer who shot Blake, saying he fired his gun seven times.

Wisconsin DOJ officials said Kenosha police officers responded to a home in the 2800 block of South 40th Street after a woman called authorities to report that her boyfriend, later determined to be Blake, was there, and "was not supposed to be on the premises."

The DOJ said Kenosha police officers initially tried to arrest Blake. In doing so, the DOJ said Sheskey deployed a taser in an attempt to stop Blake from struggling with officers.

According to the DOJ, when Sheskey's attempt failed, Arenas also deployed his taser, however that also did not stop Blake.

In Friday morning's statement, the DOJ said Blake walked around his vehicle, opened the driver’s side door, and leaned forward. While holding onto Blake’s shirt, Sheskey fired his service weapon seven times, the DOJ said. "Officer Sheskey fired the weapon into Mr. Blake’s back," the DOJ said. "No other officer fired their weapon."

According to the DOJ, Blake admitted that he had a knife at the time of the police call Sunday. Authorities recovered a knife from the driver's side floor board of Blake's vehicle, the DOJ said, while also noting that officers did not find any additional weapons. Wisconsin Patch has requested the DOJ to provide a more detailed description of the knife, including the length, type and a photograph from the scene.

According to the DOJ, Sheskey has been on the force for seven years. Arenas joined Kenosha police in February 2019 after serving the U.S. Capitol Police Department. Meronek joined the force in January, the DOJ said. They are all on administrative leave, and are cooperating with the investigation, officials said.

Blake, 29, was shot several times by Kenosha police Sunday during the course of a domestic dispute on the city's north side.

A witness to the shooting recorded the incident on video. In that video, police are seen following Blake around his SUV, grabbing him by the shirt, and opening fire on him several times as he enters his car while his children were apparently seated inside.

Blake survived the shooting. The video of Blake's shooting has gone viral, and Kenosha has seen protests ever since.

Public officials of all kinds have weighed in on the shooting, some calling for immediate punishment for the officer who pulled the trigger, others for police and social reforms, and others who are calling for a playing-out of the police investigation into the shooting.

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