Anger escalates in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Democratic state governor Tony Eversa on Monday, August 24, ordered the deployment of National Guard soldiers to support law enforcement who faced clashes with protesters for the second night in a row. The latter came to shout their exasperation at the police, who shot several times in the back of a black man on Sunday.

The mayor of Kenosha, a town on the shore of Lake Michigan 65 km south of Milwaukee, found himself facing dozens of protesters who demanded the arrest of the police officers involved in the shooting. Some protesters tried to break into the public security building when the mayor, John Antaramian, took refuge there after fleeing the angry crowd.

Protests despite the curfew

Shortly after dark, protesters defying the nighttime curfew imposed by authorities gathered outside the courthouse to shout their anger and threw water bottles at sheriff's deputies, who responded with gas tear gas.

Moments later, several National Guard trucks were seen near the city center, near the court and the public security building.

Jacob Blake, 29, who was rushed to hospital on Sunday, is in stable condition after undergoing surgery, his father told reporters.

According to the family lawyer, Blake's three young sons witnessed the shooting when they were within a yard of their father in the family car.

Video captured by a witness shows Blake walking towards the driver's side of a gray SUV, followed by two police officers pointing their guns at his back. Seven gunshots are heard as Blake, who appears to be unarmed, opens the front door of the vehicle.

It is not known whether the officers saw anything inside the vehicle that could explain their action and whether one or both of the police officers used their weapons.

Administrative leave for police officers

Police officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave during the investigation, the Wisconsin Justice Department said on Monday. The governor also called for the holding of an extraordinary parliamentary session to consider reforms of the police.

During the day, a crowd gathered at the scene of the incident, and demonstrators started fires and threw bricks and Molotov cocktails at the police, prompting the authorities to order the closure of public places in the area. The area.

The shooting came almost three months to the day after the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, during his arrest by Minneapolis police, which sparked widespread protests against police violence and discrimination. racialism across the United States.

With Reuters

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