Jacob Blake, who was left paralyzed waist-down after near-fatal police, finally spoke up as he lay on his hospital bed, wherein he sent across a powerful and moving message on Saturday evening.
The message was filmed and shared on the Twitter page of Blake’s family attorney Benjamin Crump.
Blake could be seen lying on the bed in his hospital gown as he addresses the listeners in a composed manner stating that there’s “a lot more life to live.”
“Your life, and not just only your life, your legs, something you need to move around and to move forward can be taken from you like this,” the 29-year-old says with the snap of his fingers.
He also stated that both his back and stomach have staples as he continues to deal with constant pain.
“It hurts to breathe,” he adds. “It hurts to sleep. It hurts to move from side-to-side. It hurts to eat. Please, I am telling you, change ya’ll lives out there. We can stick together.”
On August 26, Blake was shot seven times in his back by a police officer in Kenosha as he was attempting to retrieve his driver’s license. As a result, he almost lost his life. At the site of the incidents, he received medical treatment, following which, he was transported to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, where he remained handcuffed to his hospital bed, although he was paralyzed.
According to Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, Blake was handcuffed to the bed as he had outstanding warrants. Shortly after his father spoke about his condition to the Chicago Sun Times, he was later released from the restraints.
Because of the shooting, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their NBA playoff game and eventually, there were talks about suspending the season and several other sports organization teams also chose to sit out on games.
Since he was shot, lake made his first appearance in court on Friday. Furthermore, he pleaded not guilty to a previous felony, misdemeanor criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. The judge approved a $10,000 signature bond and he is only permitted to leave the state for medical treatment.
October 21 will hold a pre-trial conference and the process of jury selection will begin on November 9.
© 2020, Jonathan P-Wright. All rights reserved.
