Miami protesters denounce police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin
Three months after people in Miami joined a nationwide protest denouncing the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, they returned Saturday to continue pushing for racial justice and an end to police violence following the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
About 50 peaceful protesters gathered in downtown Miami on Saturday afternoon, occupying portions of the sidewalk on Biscayne Boulevard and using the crosswalk when permitted. City of Miami Police, which took a hands-off approach in the first months of the city’s marches, angered protesters in July when Chief Jorge Colina announced officers would begin arresting those blocking traffic.
The group had intended to march on the inner sidewalk near Bayside Marketplace, but decided against it to not provoke police parked near the sidewalk.
“We had the intent to march on the sidewalk, but that is not going to happen,” organizer Yasmin Webb said, explaining that police would look to arrest even the most “petty” violation of the new policy. “They are ready to arrest us, but we are not going to give them that satisfaction.”
Protesters chanted “Black Lives Matter” and “Whose streets? Our Streets!” They waved signs, some reading “This is a movement, not a moment” and “Hands up, Don’t Shoot.”
The Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, who was severely wounded, touched off impassioned protests in Kenosha and other U.S. cities, and it prompted strikes from professional athletes across most major sports leagues. Two demonstrators in Kenosha were killed during a protest Tuesday by a white former police cadet, 17, armed with a semiautomatic rifle.
Several days of protests have gripped Kenosha, a city of 100,000 residents located between Milwaukee and Chicago. Police have deployed tear gas against protesters, some of whom launched bottles and fireworks back, according to The Associated Press. Cars and buildings were set ablaze.
The officer who shot Blake, Rusten Sheskey, has been placed on administrative leave as authorities investigate the shooting. A 911 call about a domestic dispute, from a woman who said Blake “was not supposed to be” at her home, led police to confront Blake and attempt to arrest him, according to a statement from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Two officers used a Taser to subdue him before Sheskey fired seven shots into his back after Blake “walked around his vehicle, opened the driver’s side door, and leaned forward,” according to the statement. State authorities found a knife on the driver’s side floorboard. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Blake told investigators he possessed a knife, but Kaul did not say if Blake had displayed the weapon before Sheskey shot him. Blake’s three children were in the SUV when police shot him.
The Kenosha Police Department does not use body-worn cameras, but a 20-second recording of the shooting taken by a bystander has been viewed millions of times on social media.
Protests in Miami related to the Floyd shooting have diminished in size and frequency since they began in late May.
Demonstrations were largely peaceful following a chaotic first day of protests, which saw police cruisers set aflame and looters at Bayside Marketplace.
Activists, who say their mission remains the same, were active in the Aug. 18 Miami-Dade County elections, lobbying unsuccessfully for the ouster of State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, whose office has never charged a police officer for an on-duty killing in her 27-year tenure.
Tatiana Sanchez, a 17-year-old student at MAST Academy, stood on the sidewalk holding a sign that said, “What the f*** happened to protect and serve?”
“It’s nice to see people come together, but [the police brutality] kind of pisses you off and that’s why you’re here,” Sanchez said. “I’m only here to amplify black voices.”
