If he could do anything to help those experiencing the worst day of their life, he would do it. A seven-year veteran, Rusten Sheskey has said he sees the value of doing “public relations” on the job. Matthews said his client has never pulled the trigger in the line of duty before now, and has no history of abusing suspects in his 10 years as a police officer, the last seven with Kenosha PD.
"Kenosha Police Department does not have body cameras, therefore the officers were not wearing body cameras. At the time Sheskey opened fire, the lawyer said, Blake held a knife in his hand and twisted his body toward the officer.
Officer Implicated in Kenosha Shooting Is on the Department’s Bike Squad. In an in an interview with Kenosha News in 2019, Sheskey said: ""What I like most is that you’re dealing with people on perhaps the worst day of their lives and you can try and help them as much as you can and make that day a little bit better". Raysean White, who shot video of the encounter, told CNN's Erin Burnett he twice heard police tell Blake to "drop the knife," but that he did not see a knife in Blake's hand. Officer Rusten Sheskey of the Kenosha Police Department. He also pointed to studies showing a, The lawyer said Sheskey ceased firing when he determined Blake "no longer posed an imminent threat.". Rusten Sheskey said in an August 2019 interview that what he likes most about police work "is that you're dealing with people on perhaps the worst day of their lives and you can try and help them." "Law enforcement deployed a taser to attempt to stop Mr. Blake, however the taser was not successful in stopping Mr. Blake. He went to work trying to help people. That explanation, provided in an exclusive interview with CNN, offers the most detailed rationale to date for Sheskey's highly scrutinized decision to shoot Blake, who is Black, as he leaned into an SUV with his children inside it on August 23. The police version of events leading up to the shooting bore some similarity to an encounter allegedly involving Blake at the same address three months earlier. In that case, a woman who described Blake as her ex-boyfriend said he took her car and debit card without her permission and made $1,000 in fraudulent withdrawals, according to court records. Jacob Blake, Sr., father of Jacob Blake, Jr., speaks during a news conference outside of the County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 25. The shooting happened at about 5pm local time in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 23. Officer Sheskey told the newspaper that “for the most part” he had always wanted to be in law enforcement. The agency later changed the language to say Sheskey fired "towards Mr. Blake's back.". For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click here.