Sen. Kamala Harris believes the white police officer who shot Jacob Blake, a black man, in the back seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin, will struggle to justify that use of force.
Harris, the 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee, California senator, former California state attorney general, and ex-San Francisco district attorney, said that while she hadn’t seen all the evidence, Blake, 29, didn’t appear to be armed when seven-year force veteran Rusten Sheskey fired his weapon at close range.
“I think that there should be a thorough investigation, and based on what I’ve seen, it seems that the officer should be charged,” she told NBC Friday.
Officers were trying to arrest Blake after responding to a domestic disturbance call when he was shot. Blake had told the police he had a knife in his possession.
“Everyone should be afforded due process, but here’s the thing: In America, we know these cases keep happening. And we have had too many black men in America who have been the subject of this kind of contact, and it’s gotta stop,” Harris said.
Harris, who prebutted President Trump’s hour-plus nomination acceptance speech Thursday, was also asked about her and 2020 Democratic standard-bearer Joe Biden’s plan to issue at least a three-month nationwide mask mandate if they win the race for the White House in November. She acknowledged the order would be hard to enforce.
“Nobody’s gonna be punished. It’s a standard. Come on. Nobody likes to wear a mask. This is a universal feeling,” she said. “The point is, this is what we, as responsible people who love our neighbor, we have to just do that right now.”
