Law enforcement officials handcuffed Jacob Blake to his hospital bed, according to Blake’s father.
Jacob Blake Sr. told the Chicago Sun-Times that his son has been handcuffed to his hospital bed despite likely being left paralyzed after an officer shot him in the back several times while he tried to reenter his car during an arrest.
“I hate it that he was laying in that bed with the handcuff onto the bed,” Blake Sr. said. “He can’t go anywhere. Why do you have him cuffed to the bed?”
The Kenosha Police Department has refused to release many details about the shooting, including the reasoning behind Blake’s arrest. Blake’s father said that he has not heard from any city officials about his son’s situation. He did confirm that Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, reached out to the family.
Blake Sr. noted that his son was awake in the hospital room. He said that the younger Blake claimed that his legs were in pain, but doctors are not sure that the pain is actually coming from his legs because they believe he is paralyzed from the waist down. Blake also announced that he will be speaking at the March on Washington on Friday.
The shooting in Kenosha prompted protests throughout Wisconsin and the rest of the nation. Some of those protests devolved into riots. Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, has condemned the riots. Blake Sr. said he will discuss his feelings about the riots during his speech on Friday.
The Kenosha Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
