Jacob Blake handcuffed to hospital bed, father heartbroken: 'My son is a human being'

Trigger Warning: Racism, Police Brutality

Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old unarmed Black man shot in the back seven times by a White Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer is currently handcuffed to his hospital bed, his family has revealed. Blake, who has now spent several days in the hospital, is completely paralyzed from the neck down as the police officer's bullets severed his spinal cord and shattered some of his vertebrae. His father has thus spoken up about the inhumanity of chaining his son to his hospital bed. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers also stated at a news conference that he "could not imagine" why it was deemed necessary to handcuff Blake, CNN reports.

According to Blake's uncle Justin Blake, his father visited the hospital on Thursday to find the victim cruelly handcuffed to his hospital bed, where he is recovering from undergoing at least one surgery. His father said he was "heartbroken" to see his son in that position. Justin Blake stated in an interview with CNN, "This is an insult to injury. He is paralyzed and can't walk and they have him cuffed to the bed. Why?" Andrew Yang, a former Democratic Presidential candidate, also happened to speak to Blake's father. He informed Yang that while he was happy to know his son was awake, he was infuriated to learn that he had been handcuffed. "His father actually used the words 'chains,'" the politician remarked. "He said my son is chained up."

In addition to this, he wrote in a tweet about his interaction with Blake's father, "When asked what message I could share on his family's behalf, Jacob Blake Sr. said to me, 'Tell them my son is a human being.'" Yang is not the only politician to comment on the situation. Governor Evers, answering a reporter's question at a news conference, said, "I would have no personal understanding [of] why [handcuffing him] would be necessary. I would hope that we would be able to find a more, a better way to help him in recovering. That seems counterintuitive. It seems to be bad medicine." Indeed it is. Handcuffing the victim of nothing short of a hate crime, as Blake's uncle rightly pointed out, only adds insult to injury.

Meanwhile, protests have continued across Kenosha. On Thursday afternoon, a group of all-White local officials organized a press conference, where they praised peaceful protesters and discussed the law enforcement response to prevent rioting in the city. The group included the Kenosha mayor, Kenosha County executive, Kenosha police chief, Kenosha County sheriff, and Wisconsin National Guard's adjutant general, who all denied questions at the end of the conference. Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth stated, "Last night was very peaceful. Tuesday night, not quite so peaceful, but it wasn't too bad. Monday night was our big night. Hopefully, we're over that hump of what we have to face." It is disheartening to know that after the police have paralyzed an innocent man they only care about getting over the "hump" of protests. It is time now for police reform.