'He couldn’t get up if he wanted to:' Jacob Blake Sr. discusses son being shackled in hospital
Updated: 3:08 p.m. on August 28, 2020
WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) --The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office says Jacob Blake is no longer cuffed in his hospital bed after posting bond for an underlying arrest warrant issued in July.
Blake remained in custody, while hospitalized, from Aug. 23-28, according to MCSO.
MCSO says the hospital watch was discontinued immediately after receiving information from Kenosha authorities regarding the posted bond.
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Posted:11:45 a.m. on August 28, 2020
WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) – Jacob Blake Senior, the father of the man shot by Kenosha police on Sunday, August 23, said he was bothered to see his son shackled in the hospital.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, August 28, Blake Sr. said his son is still fighting for his life.
"He’s paralyzed from the waist down, why do they have that cold steel on my son’s ankle? He can’t get up, he couldn’t get up if he wanted to," he said. "That’s a little overkill to have him shackled to the bed. That makes no sense to me."
Governor Tony Evers reacted to the news on Thursday.
"I would have no personal understanding why that would be necessary," Evers said. "Certainly he’s paid a horrific price already being shot seven or eight times in the back. So I can’t imagine why that’s happening."
Blake Sr. became emotional when talking about the conversation he had with his son on Wednesday.
"He grabbed my hands and began to weep," Blake Sr. said. "His next question was, ‘why did they shoot me so many times?’ and I said, ‘baby, they weren’t supposed to shoot you at all."
Blake Sr. said he didn’t ask his son about what led up to the shooting.
"I didn’t want him to get emotional because he was in so much pain," he said. "I didn’t want to know anything right then."
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department said Blake is handcuffed to his bed because he had a warrant out for his arrest prior to the shooting. The department said in a statement, “Anyone with this classification level that we are guarding in the hospital would be treated in this manner.”