US: Wisconsin Promises to Reform Police After Blake Shooting

Wisconsin's State Governor Tony Evers pledged on Tuesday to enact a police reform law as a response to anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake on Sunday.

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"As our state reels from another attack against a Black man, as communities grieve and exercise their first amendment rights to demand justice, and as Jacob Blake fights for his life— we are reminded that racism is a public health crisis. There is no time to waste," Evers tweeted.

Wisconsin lawmakers, Evers included, will meet for an extraordinary session on August 31 to consider nine reform bills related to police management. The measures include limiting the use of force methods and explicitly banning chokeholds.

The assassination of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis led to nation-wide protests against police brutality and systemic racism, as well as police defunding.

The shooting of Jacob Blake incited the current efforts to prevent law enforcement misconduct, but Wisconsin has failed before to enact these initiatives.  In 2017, the state considered a body-cam proposal, to come into effect in 2022. 

Kenosha legislators, people, and officials agreed on the measure; city authorities showed hesitation because of the cost. The body cam is an accurate asset to collect evidence and define accountability in encounters between police and offenders. The officer who shot Jacob Blake was not wearing a camera.

In 2015, a Kenosha police officer shot 26-year-old Aaron Siler to death after a foot chase. The officer alleged he feared for his life when Siler picked up a plastic bucket. The officer was found not guilty because of the lack of testimonies against him and counterpart evidence.