KENOSHA COUNTY – The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department has officially declared a state of emergency even before it has been decided whether or not to indict the police officer accused of shooting Jacob Blake. But the response is not yet a traditional state of emergency, but one that prepares department employees to work longer, a spokesman said late Monday.
Sources shared the memo Monday night with TMJ4 News, and a Sheriff’s Department sergeant independently confirmed the document’s legitimacy with TMJ4 News. Following the publication of this article, a Sheriff’s Department spokesperson told TMJ4 News that the interdepartmental statement as of now only allows employees to work more hours and adjust rosters, ahead of the imposition decision. As of now, the statement does not immediately trigger a curfew or other more traditional responses in connection with a state of emergency.
The memo itself does not list specific responses as part of the state of emergency.
In the Jan. 4 memo, Sheriff David G. Beth declared a “state of emergency” for Kenosha County. He gives a number of reasons for the decision:
- The city and county may experience “riots, looting, damage to county and city property and civil unrest.”
- The city and county have a “compelling interest” to keep the peace amid “escalating tensions”. Human life and property are “very high risk”.
- All deportations and service of civil proceedings are immediately suspended
Sheriff Beth concludes, “I believe there is potential for disaster, requiring extraordinary measures to protect the health and well-being of the people. The declaration of a state of emergency will facilitate and expedite the use of resources to protect individuals. “
TMJ4 News received the memo shortly after the Kenosha City Common Council voted to give the mayor emergency authority to respond to civil unrest following the impeachment decision.
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That resolution will be passed as soon as Kenosha County District Attorney Michael D. Graveley announces his charges.
DA Graveley is expected to announce whether his office will charge Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey in the shooting of Blake. According to officials, that decision is expected in the first two weeks of January and could come next Tuesday.
Government Tony Evers on Monday announced the mobilization of 500 National Guard members to Kenosha.
Clarification: An earlier draft of this article stated that the sheriff’s office had declared a state of emergency based on a memo shared with TMJ4 News. This article has been updated with the nuance shared by a department spokesperson that, as of now, the memo only allows for changes to be scheduled prior to the tax decision.
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