Former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said that the country “must dismantle systemic racism” in response to the police shooting of a man in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday.
Biden responded Monday to the video showing a police officer shooting a black man later identified as Jacob Blake as he entered his car Sunday evening, calling for an immediate investigation and for officers to be held accountable in a statement. Biden also said systemic racism is “the urgent task before us.”
New: @JoeBiden statement on Jacob Blake this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/tN2UAuC76K
— Hanna Trudo (@HCTrudo) August 24, 2020
“And this morning, the nation wakes up yet again with grief and outrage that yet another Black American is a victim of excessive force,” the statement says.
“Equal justice has not been real for Black Americans and so many others. We are at an inflection point,” it continues. “We must fight to honor the ideals in the original American promise, which we are yet to attain: That all men and women are created equal, but more importantly that they must be treated equally.”
Unrest erupted in Kenosha overnight after the video emerged showing a police officer shooting a black man as he entered his car Sunday evening following a domestic disturbance, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. (RELATED: Unrest Erupts In Wisconsin Town After Police Shoot Black Man Entering His Car)
The video shows Blake walking around the front of his car, followed by officers with their guns drawn. As Blake opens his driver’s side door and leans over his seat, an officer grabs his shirt and opens fire from behind, firing seven shots.
The video shows witnesses jumping and screaming after shots are fired. Blake was taken to a hospital in Milwaukee, where he remains in serious condition, according to a statement from the Kenosha Police Department.
The officers at the scene were placed on administrative leave according to the Associated Press.
Rioters also set vehicles on fire, smashed windows and clashed with law enforcement Sunday night hours after the incident, according to WWMT.