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MILWAUKEE – Two Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officers who were present during the shooting of Jacob Blake but did not use deadly force against him have returned to full duty as of Jan. 20, Chief Daniel Miskinis announced.
Officers Vincent Arenas and Brittany Meronek had been on administrative leave since Aug. 23, the day of the shooting that left Blake paralyzed. The two were cleared of wrongdoing by Noble Wray, a former Madison police chief hired as an outside consultant to review the state Department of Justice’s investigation into the shooting.
Officer Rusten Sheskey, who shot at Blake’s back seven times at point-blank range as he tried climbing into a car with his children inside, remains on administrative leave pending a routine internal review of his use of deadly force.
Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley also declined to charge Sheskey in the shooting, saying Sheskey could successfully argue self-defense since Blake had a knife.
A video of the shooting, which was widely shared on social media, sparked protests, vandalism and arson in Kenosha.
Blake’s shooting and its aftermath propelled Wisconsin into the national spotlight. Both Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden discussed it during campaign stops in the state. Biden met with Blake’s family and said charges against Sheskey appeared warranted, while Trump defended police and preached law and order.
On Aug. 25, the third night of protests in Kenosha, two men, Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, were fatally shot by a teenager armed with an AR-15-style rifle. Kyle Rittenhouse, then 17, has been charged with killing them and with wounding Gaige Grosskreutz.
Follow reporter Elliot Hughes on Twitter @elliothughes12
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