Jacob Blake is no longer in handcuffs in his hospital room, and law-enforcement officers had been removed from his room as of Friday afternoon.
Patrick Cafferty, Blake’s attorney, said a $500 bail was posted on a July warrant for Blake’s arrest, apparently triggering the removal of any law enforcement presence from Blake’s room. At this point, there are no charges against Blake regarding the police call Sunday that ended in Blake being shot in the back at least seven times by a Kenosha police officer, Cafferty said.
At least two law-enforcement officers had been in Blake’s hospital room at all times, Cafferty said.
“Obviously, it’s going to be easier on him and his medical personnel and family now that it’s been addressed,” Cafferty said. “We’ll be able to focus on the merits of the criminal case.”
Blake was charged with a felony crime on July 6, as well as disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing, both misdemeanors, Wisconsin court records show. The warrant for Blake’s arrest was issued the next day.
Jacob Blake’s father questioned the handcuffs after visiting his son Wednesday.
“I hate it that he was laying in that bed with the handcuff onto the bed,” his father, also named Jacob Blake, said Thursday in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. “He can’t go anywhere. Why do you have him cuffed to the bed?”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said he didn’t understand the use of cuffs either. “I can’t imagine why that’s happening, and I would hope that we would be able to find a . . . better way to have him get better and recover,” the governor said during a news conference Thursday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
