Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) weighed in on the shooting of Jacob Blake, Jr., at the hands of officers with the Kenosha Police Department as he suggested Blake should have yielded to officers.
On Tuesday, the South Carolina senator attended a press conference where he announced the endorsement of the South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police.
During the press conference, he was asked about Blake’s shooting which immediately led to more protests, riots, and public outcry over racial injustice and police brutality.
Graham sympathized with police officers as he also raised questions about Blake’s involvement in the shooting. The Republican senator wonders why Blake didn’t “yield.”
“I don’t know what happened there. Let’s find out. It’s dangerous being a cop,” Graham said on Tuesday. “I don’t know why the gentleman didn’t yield when he was asked to yield. I don’t know what the facts are.”
.@LindseyGrahamSC on Jacob Blake being shot by police: "I don't know why the gentleman didn't yield when he was asked to yield."
— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) August 26, 2020
WALKING 👏🏾 AWAY 👏🏾 FROM 👏🏾 THE 👏🏾 POLICE 👏🏾IS 👏🏾 NOT 👏🏾 PUNISHABLE 👏🏾 BY 👏🏾 DEATH pic.twitter.com/EX2bMa4977
Graham’s remarks came one day after Blake’s shooting. According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Blake was shot several times by a Kenosha police officer dispatched in response to a domestic incident.
On Sunday, footage of the shooting went viral. The video, filmed by witnesses, captured Blake walking around the front of an SUV as two officers walked behind him.
After Blake reached the door of the vehicle, the officer grabbed the back of his shirt and fired several times after he opened the door. As the officer fired his weapon, Blake’s three children looked on in horror from inside of the SUV.
On Tuesday afternoon, Blake’s family also made their first public appearance where they shared their reactions to the shooting. Regardless of what may have happened prior to the shooting, Blake’s family argued that the officer’s response was excessive and unjustifiable.
“What justified all those shots?” Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr., told the Chicago Sun-Times. “What justified doing that in front of my grandsons? What are we doing?”
Left with “eight holes” in his body, Blake has been left paralyzed from the waist down. The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave but no charges have been brought against them.