Justin Blake, the uncle of Jacob Blake - a Black man was shot seven times in the back by police as he was getting into a car while they were trying to arrest him, wants US President Donald Trump to keep his disrespect away during a visit to Kenosha, in Wisconsin, today.
"All I ask is he keep his disrespect, his foul language far away from our family. We need a president that's going to unite our country and take us in a different direction," he told the BBC.
Mr Blake also told the Associated Press a community event designed to help the city of Kenosha heal was focussed on getting justice for “Little Jake”, not on a nearby visit by Trump.
Mr Blake spoke today at the site where police shot his 29-year-old nephew in the back seven times on August 24 (New Zealand time), leaving him paralysed.
The Wisconsin city has faced unrest since the police shooting of Jacob Blake last month. (Source: Other)
Trump is visiting Kenosha to tour destruction caused during unrest that followed the shooting.
Mr Blake said Trump’s comments over the last four years had given police officers an incentive to brutalise Black men like his nephew. He said he doesn’t care about Trump’s motivation for visiting Kenosha. Instead, he’s focused on getting justice and healing the city.
Demonstrators marched through Kenosha after Trump wrapped up his visit to the area today.
More than 100 people followed a man with a megaphone, shouting, “arrest the police” and other chants, before the protest petered out.
At one point today, protestors surrounded a man who they said was a member of a white nationalist group. Police officers moved in quickly and pulled him away. One officer pepper sprayed a woman.
Later, a man wearing a Trump hat and carrying a Trump banner was surrounded by protestors. He walked back in retreat then struck out at a protestor. The two fell to the ground, struggling, then the man got up and walked away, heckled by protestors.
Earlier, a few hundred supporters and detractors of Trump gathered at an intersection, engaging each other in shouting matches. There were no reports of violence.
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