Dylan Moore

University of San Diego

LEPSL 510: Communication Skill for Law Enforcement Leaders

The Shooting of Jacob Blake: Missed Opportunities

December 14, 2020

Kenosha Police Department Officers. He was transported to the hospital to later be pronounced

paralyzed. Cell phone footage of the incident went viral across the United States. A week full of

riots, violence, arson and more ensued with the civil unrest receiving national news media

attention. An overview of the shooting incident, best cyber practices for law enforcement, and an

analyzation of Kenosha Police Department’s online response to the incident will be evaluated.

Jacob Blake Shooting Incident Overview

Kenosha police officers responded to a 9-1-1 call referencing domestic violence at

approximately 5:11 in the evening. The officers were informed the victim’s boyfriend, Jacob

Blake was not permitted to be on the premise. She stated he had stolen her cars keys and refused

to give them back. Police officers upon arriving at the house were notified Blake had a warrant

for his arrest. Blake had charges of sexual assault, trespassing, and disorderly conduct.1

When officers arrived on scene Blake was arguing with two females outside on the front

lawn. Officers attempted to arrest Blake. Two officers both used their Taser on Blake, with

witnesses stating officers told Blake to “Drop the knife” many times.2 Blake was able to get

away from both police officers. Both police officers drew their department issued firearms.

Blake walked over to his vehicle parked in the street. He opened the car door and reached inside

despite officer’s commands telling him not to do so. One of the police officers, Sheskey,

attempted to grab Blake to prevent him from entering the vehicle. The victim was screaming

1 VerBruggen, Robert (August 27, 2020). "What We Know about the Jacob Blake Shooting". National Review. Retrieved August
27, 2020
2 Schaper, David (August 28, 2020). "Police Union In Kenosha, Wis., Provides Account Of Jacob Blake Shooting". NPR.

Retrieved August 29, 2020.

rounds hitting him in the back. A knife was recovered from the front driver-side floorboard of

the car Blake leaned into. Blake was transported to a local hospital and was pronounced

paralyzed from the waist down. Furthermore, at 10:15 pm just five hours after the shooting, a

state of emergency was declared as large crowds gathered in protest. Members of the civil rights

group Black Lives Matter and many others converged on the city in protest of police brutality.4

While national news mainly covered the protests as non-violent, the scene on the ground was

much different. In the evening of August 23rd and 24th many buildings were burned completely

to the ground. Other businesses were looted, and many were set on fire.

On day three of the riots Governor Evers requested deployment of national guardsman.

250 guardsman responded and reinforced the police riot lines. Significant numbers of armed

civilians descended on the streets to protect lives and property. Police stated the groups only

complicated the situation on the ground and did not make things better. Citizens felt the need to

defend themselves and businesses against the rioting and looting.5 At approximately 11:45 pm a

17 year old boy from Illinois shot and killed two people with a rifle, injuring a third. He was

arrested the next day and charged with homicide. The case to this day has not been settled

because the defendant claims to have used his rifle in self-defense from a group of rioters who

were trying to harm him. Day four of the protest was mainly peaceful as the arson, looting, and

rioting ended. A few days later on August 28th over a thousand National Guard troops were

3 "Kenosha Officer Thought Jacob Blake Was Trying To Abduct Child And Said Blake Turned Toward Him With Knife, His Lawyer
Says". Chicago Tribune. September 28, 2020.
4 Carson, Sophie; Jones, Meg. "Kenosha businesses damaged and vehicles burned after police officer shoots Jacob Blake in the

back". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
5 "Biden reveals he spoke to Jacob Blake's family as police say they don't want militias on the street". The Independent. August

26, 2020. Archived from the original on August 26, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
deployed to the area. Peaceful protests continued until August 29th when thousands of people

marched chanting, “7 bullets, 7 days” and “No Justice, No Peace.”6 Speakers at the march called

for police reform legislation.

The incident and subsequent protests received national media attention with both US

Presidential candidates visiting the area. A damage assessment of the area valued damages at

over $2 million. Damage to private property estimated to be as high as $50 million according to

the Kenosha Area Business Alliance.7

Best Practices for Law Enforcement

A police department’s cyber presence plays a major factor in police shootings. Whether a

department has a robust social media presence, and how the department responds to the

community throughout the incident, plays a large role in the community’s reaction. An effective

social media strategy allows police departments to shape the narrative. This prevents other

people or the news media shaping the narrative for the department. The best practices for law

enforcement’s cyber presence includes a robust Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in able to

effectively respond to the community during high profile situations.

Facebook is most effective to reach a predominantly older group of people who may or

may not live within your community. It is effective at getting messages and videos out directly to

thousands of people. Facebook has been described as a “river” of information to the community.

With the largest amount of users on the platform compared to any other type of social media, the

opportunities to not only reach members of the community, but nationwide can be actualized.

6"'7 bullets, 7 days': Protesters march for Blake in Kenosha". MPRNews.org. August 29, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
7McAdams, Alexis (September 2, 2020). "Kenosha unrest damages more than 100 buildings, at least 40 destroyed, alliance
says". WLS-TV. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
This can be an extremely effective way controlling the release of information, releasing crime

information to the community, and more.8 In addition, Instagram has the same algorithms as

Facebook, but targeted to a much younger audience. Instagram opens the opportunity for

departments to implement live videos, “hashtags” and highlights. Departments can post

photographs as well as short videos to the platform. It is a quick way to disseminate information

to the younger portion of the populace. Considering the fact “people under 45, 64 percent of their

information is obtained through social media,”9 this is a valuable tool to reach members of the

community with information.

In contrast with Facebook and Instagram, Twitter is best implemented for succinct and

immediate information. People who look at Twitter want quick updates and are not inclined to do

more research.10 It has been described as a “waterfall” of information, with everything being in

chronological order. The most powerful part of Twitter is news agencies look at it the most for

up to date information. Police departments who implement Twitter to their benefit have the

media reacting and using the department’s tweets. The Department is able to get information to

the public rapidly and set the narrative.

Analysis of Kenosha Police Department

The Kenosha Police Department has developed a robust social media presence. The

department has a Facebook page with about 68k followers, Instagram with about 5k followers,

and a Twitter with about 10k followers. The department actively posts updates to the community

about crime, important information, and more. The department’s overall cyber presence is

8 Presentation 6.2: Tactics of Online Communication. LEPSL 510: Communication Skills for Law Enforcement Leaders.
9 Ibid.
10 Presentation 6.1. LEPSL 510: Communication Skills for Law Enforcement Leaders.
reaching over 80k people across all of their platforms in a city of 100k people. During critical

incidents however, the department provided very little information to the community. There were

many missed opportunities to create and shape narratives, from their officer who was involved in

the shooting, to the subsequent riots, and shootings which occurred.

The Kenosha Police Department put out to the community in a form of a photograph a

written media release on August 23rd. This was posted to all of the department’s social media

pages. This limited response sparked even more outrage as the video of the Kenosha PD’s

officers was already going viral. This “hands off” approach giving the community little

information is not substantive enough for the current climate. This lack of information allowed

the news media and other citizens to shape the narrative. This narrative has held to this day with

many people throughout the United States posting comments across all of the department’s

social media that the officers should be fired and prosecuted. In addition to missing the narrative

shaping power of social media during the initial incident, the department’s Chief of Police made

no attempt to create a video, or other forms of media other than written statements throughout

the protests, riots, and shooting by Kyle Rittenhouse. This allowed the news media to shape the

narrative throughout the entire seven days of protests and beyond.

In conclusion, the Kenosha Police Department has developed a significant social media

presence over time. However during a critical incident such as an officer involved shooting,

subsequent protests, riots, and another shooting, the department missed opportunities to shape

the narrative people saw. Instead, the department and community was taken over by the national

media narrative and to this day the department receives negative backlash from how the incidents

were handled.