Jacob Blake, 29, was shot several times in the back by Kenosha Police Sunday.
Jacob Blake has been handcuffed to his hospital bed while he recovers from being shot several times in the back by a Wisconsin police officer, his father said. His father, also named Jacob Blake, also told the paper that his son is handcuffed because “he’s under arrest,” but added that he is not sure what charges he is facing.
Blake, 29 was shot seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday, his father said. Video of the shooting immediately went viral on social media, prompting mass protests in the city that are still continuing. The city has since imposed a State of Emergency curfew of 7 p.m.
Cellphone video of the incident shows Blake walking around and opening up his car door before being shot in the back by police. Police were reportedly trying to detain him after responding to a domestic disturbance call. Three of Blake’s children were reportedly in the backseat.
The elder Blake has said that doctors told him his son is paralyzed from the waist down, but doctors don't know if the injury is permanent.
“I hate it that he was laying in that bed with the handcuff onto the bed,” his father told the Chicago Sun-Times. “He can’t go anywhere. Why do you have him cuffed to the bed?”
In the hospital, Blake told his father he thought he could feel pain in his legs, but his father isn’t sure if the pain is actually coming from his legs, Blake Sr. told the paper.
Gov. Tony Evers said Thursday that he was concerned about Blake being handcuffed in his hospital bed.
“I would have no personal understanding why that would be necessary,” the governor said. “I can’t imagine why that’s happening and I would hope that we would be able to find a ... better way to have him get better and recover.”
Blake's father said that his son wept when he first regained consciousness in the hospital following his encounter with police. "Then his next question was, 'Why did they shoot me so many times?'" Blake Sr. said on CNN's "New Day" Friday. "And I said, 'Baby they weren't supposed to shoot you at all.'"
"Why do they have that cold steel on my son's ankle?" Blake Sr. continued. "He can't get up, he couldn't get up if he wanted to."
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