US City Guards Against Protests over Police Shooting of Black Man

 

Wisconsin officials are readying for more violence after two nights of unrest in the city of Kenosha. The unrest began after police shot a Black man in the back as his three sons watched on Sunday.

Zach Rodriguez, a local leader, said the city might look for federal help after some 300 people set fire to buildings and attacked businesses Monday night.

"Essentially¹, our city was burned to the ground, building by building," Rodriguez told Reuters news agency. "Enough is enough."

Smoke rose over central Kenosha after police officers clashed with protesters near where Jacob Blake was shot. Police said the protesters were violating a night-time curfew.

Blake remained in a hospital intensive care room after doctors operated on him. The 29-year-old would require more operations. Lawyer Ben Crump, who represents the Blake family, spoke² to ABC News. Blake's father told The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper his son was unable to move any part of his body from the waist down.

Crump said Jacob Blake had been attempting to break up a fight between two women when he was wounded. He was struck by four of the seven shots, all fired by one police officer, he added. His sons, aged³ 3, 5 and 8, witnessed the shooting.

"You can only imagine the psychological problems these babies are going to have for the rest of their life," Crump said.

Video captured by a neighbor shows Blake moving away from two officers who were pointing guns at his back. He walks toward the driver's side door of his sports utility vehicle. After he opens the door, seven shots are heard. One of the officers is seen pulling at Blake's shirt. It remains⁴ unknown what the officers may have seen inside his car.

There was "no indication he was armed," Crump said.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating the incident. The department has yet to release any details. Kenosha police have directed all questions to the state investigators⁵.

The incident is the latest in a series of cases to focus attention on police treatment of African Americans.

The shooting took place three months after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota incited⁶ nationwide protests against racism⁷ and police violence.

Unrest in other US cities

There was more unrest in the United States Monday night, with clashes reported in Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington and Minneapolis. In New York City, marchers demonstrated on the Brooklyn Bridge, social media video showed.

Portland has been the scene of weeks of often-violent protests. Police there once again declared a riot late on Monday and arrested several demonstrators after fires were lit at the offices of a police labor⁸ union.

Seattle police said demonstrators set several buildings on fire, resulting in at least one arrest and one officer injured.

Black Lives Matter activists⁹ are demanding the immediate¹⁰ dismissal or arrest of the Kenosha officers. Police officials have placed the officers on administrative¹¹ leave.

Hours into the curfew, the mostly peaceful demonstration¹² turned violent with some protesters setting off fireworks.

Local police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and smoke bombs to break up the demonstration, said Porche Bennett, a protester from Kenosha. National guard troops reportedly provided support to the police. Fires destroyed much of the Black business district, Bennett said, adding that the instigators she saw were white.

"It's people from out of town doing this. We've been shopping there since we were kids and they set it on fire," Bennett said.

Social media images showed both whites and Blacks causing the unrest. Black men swinging baseball bats broke traffic signals and streetlights. White and Black men attacked a row of cars.

Heavily armed white civilians¹³ stood guard in front of businesses. At least one man was injured, shown on social media bleeding from the head, as civilians offered aid.

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

Words in This Story

arsonist¹⁴ – n. someone who sets illegally fires to buildings and other things

shirt – n. a piece of clothing worn on the upper body

indication – n. sign

focus – n. the center of interest or activity

scene – n. the place where an incident takes place

district – n. an area of a city of country; neighborhood

shopping – n. the activity of purchasing goods from stores

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 incited   

刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He incited people to rise up against the government. 他煽动人们起来反对政府。
• The captain's example incited the men to bravery. 船长的榜样激发了水手们的勇敢精神。

7 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

12 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

13 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

14 arsonist   

n.纵火犯

参考例句：

• You're pretty sure you can identify a single arsonist?你确信你能鉴别出一个特定的纵火者？
• The arsonist confessed that he set fire to six businesses.那纵火犯承认他给6家商场纵过火。