Who is Rusten Sheskey?
Officer Rusten Sheskey has been serving as a law officer for the last seven years. Following the killing of Blake, Sheskey was put on administrative leave.
As per The Kenosha News, Sheskey has been serving in the Kenosha police's bike unit. He worked with the UW-Parkside police department for three years before joining the Kenosha police force. In one of his rare interviews, Sheskey talked about his grandfather and how he worked for the city for 33 years. He also mentioned that it was easier for people to talk to the officers when they are on bicycles.
"It kind of takes the whole car away, obviously; you don't have the windows rolled up. People wave us down for everything, from talking about their problems in the neighborhood to just to say hi and talk about the bikes. It definitely gets us out a lot more."
Sheskey was also a high school racer and did mountain biking for fun. "We're in a public service job, a customer service job, and the public is our customer. I think that, especially with the officers that we have here, everybody strives to make sure that the public feels served and happy with the services they receive. A lot of officers go way out of their way to make sure that that's done. ... I think the KPD really embraces that."
Knife Found in Blake's Car
As per the Department of Justice investigation, the officers only found a knife in Blake's car, no other weapons. "Kenosha Police Department officers were dispatched to a residence in the 2800 block of 40th Street on the evening of Sunday, 23 August after a female caller reported that her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises," the statement said.
The statement further says states that during the incident, the officers in question attempted to arrest Blake. In their attempt to stop him, they deployed a taser. However, it was not that successful. "Mr. Blake walked around his vehicle, opened the driver's side door, and leaned forward. While holding onto Mr. Blake's shirt, Officer Rusten Sheskey fired his service weapon 7 times. Officer Sheskey fired the weapon into Mr. Blake's back."
The statement from DOJ further reveals that no other officer fired any weapon. That being said, the Kenosha Police Department does not have any body cameras, so it would become extremely difficult for the justice department team to distinguish the reality from the speculations.
As of this writing, Blake is recovering in the hospital and is conscious, but his lawyers have stated that it will take some miracle for him to ever walk again as he is paralyzed from the waist down.
"He had a bullet go through some or all of his spinal cord, at least one bullet," Blake's family attorney said (via CNN). "He has holes in his stomach. He had to have nearly his entire colon and small intestines removed."
Blake has become yet another victim in the long list of black men who became victims of police shooting. Months earlier, the killing of Floyd brought major US cities to a halt.
