SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – The members of the Minnesota Legislature’s People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus issued the following statement in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisconsin police:
“We know too well the immense pain Jacob Blake, his family, and his community are going through. We express our deepest sympathies and wish Mr. Blake a healthful recovery.
“Recent reports show that while he has survived this vicious attack, he is paralyzed from the waist down, potentially permanently. These merciless shootings and the trauma they inflict upon our communities must stop. Mr. Blake’s children bore witness to this terrifying act in a scene all too familiar to that of the murder of Philando Castille. The trauma and pain they will carry with them for the rest of their lives is incalculable. The systematic murder and terrorizing of Black Americans must end.
“We unequivocally stand with Mr. Blake and his family. We demand justice for Jacob Blake. We demand that the officer at fault be charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“While we made some significant changes in Minnesota, we know that much work remains to be done. We will not stop until people of color and Indigenous people are no longer forced to face the horror that Jacob Blake, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor have faced. We will continue our efforts to create state laws that bring accountability, greater humanity, and community-centered public safety – all with race equity – towards ending the unacceptable use of excessive force or killings of people of color and Indigenous people at the hands of our law enforcement entities.”