Member-only story
Why there will be no justice for Jacob Blake
His shooting may have been unjust, but in the eyes of the law, it probably wasn’t ‘unreasonable’
There’s a reason why the chant “no justice, no peace” is a staple of protests against police violence. The slogan is evergreen. It states simply and plainly what the deal is: Give us justice, then there will be peace. And it’s a compact that is constantly broken. The latest wave of unrest that has broken out since Kenosha police shot Jacob Blake is rooted in a lack of justice — or an expectation of it.
As infuriating as they may be, the actions of officer Rusten Sheskey, the officer who shot Blake seven times in the back, will most likely be deemed lawful.
When it comes to policing, there is broad space for injustice within the boundaries of the law.
Something an officer does can be unjust but not unconstitutional, and this contradiction has driven the cycle of police violence and revolt over the past few decades.
Blake’s case calls to mind the 2010 fatal shooting of Aaron Campbell, another unarmed black man, in Portland. His girlfriend had…
