Officials say two officers deployed Tasers before Jacob Blake shooting

Authorities in Wisconsin said Friday that two police officers at the scene deployed stun guns when attempting to arrest Jacob Blake before a Kenosha, Wis., officer shot the 29-year-old multiple times in the back.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has also identified the two other officers who were at the scene Sunday in Kenosha as Vincent Arenas and Brittany Meronek. Arenas has worked at the Kenosha Police Department since February 2019 while Meronek joined the department earlier this year.

Officials said that Arenas and Officer Rusten Sheskey, a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha PD, both deployed stun guns at Blake but they were “unsuccessful” in stopping him. Blake then went around his car, opened the driver’s side door and leaned in when Sheskey fired on him seven times, the Wisconsin DOJ said Friday.

Meronek was also present at the scene but didn’t use a weapon on Blake, officials said.

The Wisconsin DOJ had previously said that a single stun gun was deployed by law enforcement and on Wednesday had only identified Sheskey, saying the other officers’ identities would be released later.

The Wisconsin DOJ is investigating the shooting. The U.S. U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday it was also launching a civil rights investigation into the shooting.

Officials have not announced any charges against Blake, but his father says he is handcuffed to the hospital bed as he recovers from the gunshot wounds.

Officers were responding to a call about a domestic dispute before the shooting. Blake’s attorney, Ben Crump, has said that Blake was trying to deescalate the situation before he was accosted by police.

The shooting — which Blake’s family has said left him at least temporarily paralyzed from the waist down — has led to days of unrest in Kenosha this week.

On Tuesday night, two protesters were shot and killed and another was injured. Officials later arrested Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois, who faces multiple homicide charges.