Kenosha, Wisconsin – Rusten Sheskey, the police officer responsible for shooting Jacob Blake in front of the victim's three children, will not face charges, the Kenosha County District Attorney announced on Tuesday.

On August 23, 2020, white police officer Rusten Sheskey (31) shot at a Black civilian seven times in the back. The attack resulted in Jacob Blake's (29) hospitalization and partial paralysis. According to Blake's family, he "would probably never walk again," according to the New York Times.

Police were reportedly called to the scene in response to a domestic incident. Blake was standing outside his car, while his three children sat in the back seat. Sheskey claimed Blake was holding a knife at the time.

In a two-hour press conference, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley stated that he and other investigators had extensively reviewed the video and police reports. Graveley said he utlimately saw no viable way to present a convincing case, as it would be difficult to prove Sheskey wasn't merely acting in self-defense.

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Blake's shooting came amid a summer of increased Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020.

Two days after the Kenosha incident, the city was once again catapulted into the national spotlight when Illinois resident and supporter of the Blue Lives Matter countermovement Kyle Rittenhouse (then 17) shot three BLM protesters, killing two.

Jacob Blake's family and friends were outraged by the decision.

Justin Blake, the victim's uncle, described the experience as "gut-wrenching" and urged Kenosha residents to come together in protest against the ruling.

"This is bigger, greater than little Jake. This is about all the little Jakes. That’s why the people keep coming out and supporting us. You know why? Because it could have been them," Justin said.

One of Blake's lawyers, B'Ivory LaMarr, also publicly decried the decision: "We believe that the city and the community is being deprived of their constitutional right to be able to be the trier of fact."

LaMarr said the legal team's next step will likely be to file a civil lawsuit, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The January 5 decision presents yet another instance in a disturbing pattern of US police brutality and subsequent impunity, particularly when the victims are Black Americans.