The ongoing issue with Jacob Blake continues, but differently, as he has dropped his civil rights lawsuit against the Kenosha police officer who shot him.
According to court records, Blake sued Rusten Sheskey in March of 2020 but dismissed the action last Friday. A one-page stipulation signed by lawyers from both sides indicates they’ve agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning Blake can not refile the claim.
Nothing in the case file mentions a settlement, and neither lawyer immediately returned messages Monday morning.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller signed an order granting the dismissal Monday. Sheskey and other officers had responded to a domestic call on Aug. 23, 2020. Blake refused their orders and was getting into an SUV when Sheskey fired seven times.
The 31-year-old had a knife, and Sheskey was neither charged nor disciplined. Blake was left partially paralyzed from the shooting.
Once word of the shooting hit the nation, it sparked days of violent protests in Kenosha, during which Kyle Rittenhouse killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 28.
A jury later acquitted Rittenhouse of all charges in the case after arguing he acted in self-defense.