KENOSHA COUNTY – The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department has officially declared a state of emergency before deciding whether or not to charge the police officer accused of shooting Jacob Blake. But the response is not a traditional state of emergency so far, but prepares department employees to work longer hours, according to a spokesman last Monday.
Sources shared the note with TMJ4 News on Monday evening and a sergeant with the Sheriff’s Department independently confirmed the legitimacy of the document with TMJ4 News. Following the publication of this article, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman told TMJ4 News that the interdepartmental statement only allows employees to work longer hours and adjust schedules before the decision to charge. The statement from now on does not immediately lead to a curfew or other more traditional responses associated with a state of emergency.
The report itself does not mention any specific response as part of the state of emergency.
In the Jan. 4 note, Sheriff David G. Beth declared a “state of emergency” for Kenosha County. He mentions several reasons for the decision:
- The city and county may experience “riots, looting, damage to county and town property, and civil unrest.”
- The city and county have a “strong interest” in maintaining peace amid “escalating tension.” Lives and human property have “a very high risk.”
- All evictions and notification of civil proceedings are suspended immediately
Sheriff Beth concludes, “I find that there is the potential for disasters, which require extraordinary measures to protect people’s health and well-being. Declaring a state of emergency will facilitate and expedite the use of resources to protect people.”
TMJ4 News received the note shortly after the Kenosha City Joint Council voted to give the mayor emergency authority to respond to civil unrest after the decision to charge.
READ MORE:
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This resolution is enacted as soon as Kenosha County District Attorney Michael D. Graveley announces his collection decision.
DA Graveley is expected to announce whether his office will charge Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey for the Blake shooting. This decision is expected in the first two weeks of January, according to officials, and could arrive as early as this Tuesday.
Governor Tony Evers on Monday announced the mobilization of 500 members of the National Guard in Kenosha.
Clarification: An earlier version of this article claimed that the sheriff’s office had declared a state of emergency, based on a note shared with TMJ4 News. This article has been updated with a nuance shared by a department spokesperson, as the note only allows changes to be scheduled prior to the billing decision.
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