A warrant for Jacob Blake’s arrest was issued against Jacob Blake, but it’s unclear if police were aware of it when they shot the 29-year-old Black man on Sunday.
Prosecutors in Kenosha County, Wisconsin charged Blake, 29, with third-degree sexual assault, trespassing and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse last month, according to The Kenosha News. An arrest warrant for Blake was issued on July 6.
The newspaper reported that a woman living in the 2800 block of 40th Street told police in May that Blake, her ex-boyfriend, had come into her home and taken her car keys and vehicle. She also said he had touched her sexually without consent.
It’s not clear if the officers who arrived at an address in the same block shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday were aware of those charges. The Kenosha Police Department has been contacted for comment.
An attorney representing Blake told the newspaper that Blake had no previous criminal charges or convictions.
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the Blake family, told reporters at the news conference that police haven’t given Blake’s family any information about what prompted the shooting that has left him paralyzed and fighting for his life in hospital.
“But when it’s them doing something nefarious to a person of color, they say ‘oh no, don’t just take the video, you have to put it in context. Don’t rush to judgement. But didn’t they rush to judgment when they shot Jacob?”
He added: “Why is it double standards? We can’t have two justice systems in America. We keep saying this after every tragedy, we can’t have a justice system for Black America and one for white America. We have to have a justice system for everybody.”