Jacob Blake: Black father paralysed in police shooting has handcuffs removed while in hospital bed

Sheriff’s office says 29-year-old was shackled because he remains on suspicion of prior sexual assault

Jacob Blake (AP)

The black father paralysed after being shot seven times by police in the US state of Wisconsin is no longer handcuffed to his hospital bed, his lawyers have said.

Jacob Blake has had his wrists and ankles shackled ever since the shooting last Sunday, despite being unable to walk.

Police have defended the measure saying the restrains were state policy because the 29-year-old was effectively in custody on suspicion of a previous sexual assault.

But after growing outrage that a man still effectively fighting for his life was also being locked in chains, officers have now removed the cuffs.

“Fortunately, a man who is paralysed and fighting for his life after being shot seven times in the back, will no longer have to deal with the pain of having his ankles and wrist shackled and the traumatic stress of being under armed guard,” attorneys Ben Crump, Patrick Salvi and B’Ivory Lamarr said in a statement late on Friday.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the removal saying Blake had been unchained because he was no longer in custody having posted bond – although sexual assault charges remain.

The action followed an intervention from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers who, when asked if he was concerned that Blake had been handcuffed to his bed, told reporters: “Hell yes.”

The Democrat added: “I would have no personal understanding why that would be necessary. Certainly he’s paid a horrific price already.”

The shooting of Blake by police officer Rusten Sheskey has led to six continuous nights of protests in the 100,000-person city of Kenosha where it happened.

Demonstrators say it is yet more evidence of institutional racism and endemic police brutality in the US, and are calling for charges to be brought against Sheskey, who has been placed on leave while the incident is investigated.

Meanwhile, in other developments, a court hearing for a teenager charged with killing two people during the unrest has been delayed by a month.

Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, had been due to appear before a court in Illinois for a request to have him extradited to Wisconsin for trial but a judge postponed the hearing until 25 September.

Details of Blake’s shooting itself remain unclear almost a week on.

Josh Kaul, Wisconsin Attorney-General, said officers were called to an address after a woman reported “her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises”.

While there, officers tried to arrest Blake, initially using a Taser. But after he opened his car door, Sheskey – who has served with Kenosha Police Department for seven years – fired seven times.

Officers later “recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard”, Kaul said.

This weekend, with tensions remaining high, more than 1,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to Kenosha, where a night time curfew has also been put in place.