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Kenosha officer who shot Jacob Blake will not face discipline and has returned to duty: Police chief
Image source: Good Morning American YouTube video screenshot

Kenosha officer who shot Jacob Blake will not face discipline and has returned to duty: Police chief

Chief Daniel Miskinis says 'the only lawful and appropriate decision was made'

The Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer who shot Jacob Blake — a black man who was shot seven times in the back and paralyzed from the waist down during an altercation with law enforcement last summer — is back on the job.

Kenosha Police Department Chief Daniel Miskinis says multiple investigations have cleared Officer Rusten Sheskey of any wrongdoing in the August incident, and the officer has returned to duty.

What are the details?

Miskinis issued a statement Tuesday saying that according to an internal review, Sheskey "was found to have been acting within policy and will not be subjected to discipline" over the high-profile case, adding that the officer had returned from administrative leave on March 31.

"Although this incident has been reviewed at multiple levels, I know that some will not be pleased with the outcome," Miskinis wrote, "however, given the facts, the only lawful and appropriate decision was made."

The chief also pointed out that Sheskey had already been cleared of wrongdoing by an outside agency, an independent expert, and the Kenosha County district attorney.

In January, Kenosha DA Michael Graveley announced that neither Sheskey or any other officers involved would face charges over the incident with Blake, whose shooting sparked more than a week of protests over racial justice in the city that descended into violence.

Graveley said at the time, "If you don't believe you can prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt, you have an ethical obligation not to issue charges," noting that the officers involved had a strong case for self-defense.

The altercation with Blake began after authorities were called to the residence of a woman who was reportedly Blake's ex-girlfriend, who claimed Blake was attempting to steal her vehicle.

She had accused him of sexually assaulting her in May.

Video of the Aug. 23 run-in with police shows officers approaching Blake as he walks away from them to get in a vehicle, where his children were inside. Blake was armed with a knife, and an attorney for Sheskey later explained that the officer believed Blake might harm him or the children in the car.

Blake admitted in a January interview with host Michael Strahan on "Good Morning America" that he was armed with a knife, but that his intention was to "put the knife in the SUV and then lay on the ground to submit to the police officers."

NBC News reported that Blake filed a federal complaint against Sheskey last month, seeking unspecified damages.

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