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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Attorneys, Family of Jacob Blake Hold Press Conference. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired August 25, 2020 - 16:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:30:01]

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR JACOB BLAKE: It is going to take a miracle, it is going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again.

He is currently in surgery as we speak, still struggling to sustain his life, and to hopefully become some resemblance of the man once was.

So, at this time, I'm a call attorney Patrick Salvi first, and then you hear from attorney B'Ivory LaMarr to give updates.

PATRICK SALVI, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF JACOB BLAKE: Thank you. Thank you, Ben.

My name is Patrick Salvi Jr. I'm a lawyer at the office of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard in Chicago. As you have heard, and as you can imagine, when at least seven, as many as eight bullets, from point- blank range enter the human body and shred through the tissue of the human body, that that can cause and did in this case severe and likely permanent injury.

Miraculously, because I imagine you have all seen the video, Jacob is alive. And I cannot tell you how pleased we were, how full our hearts were when Julia came back from visiting with him and actually told us that he told her a joke.

And so that was tremendous news.

But let me go through some of the injuries that Jacob suffered. Mr. Crump is correct. He had a bullet go through some or all of his spinal cord, at least one bullet. He has holes in his stomach. He had to have nearly his entire colon and small intestines removed.

He suffered damage to his kidney and liver, and was also shot in the arm. And so Jacob has a long road ahead of him, a lot of rehabilitation. You heard he's in surgery right now, and it is not going to be his last surgery.

So, he has a long road to recovery. We are going to hope and pray for as good of a recovery as we can possibly get.

Jacob is going to fight hard, no doubt about it, with the support of his wonderful family that you see behind me. But that type of rehabilitation and recovery, it's not free. And so part of what we need to do on Jacob's behalf, in light of the travesty that happened on Sunday, is, we have to bring a civil lawsuit.

And we're going to be doing that, among other things, to accomplish several goals. One is, of course, to hold the wrongdoers accountable for this injustice. The second is to get Jacob the resources that he will need. He's a young man. He's got decades of life ahead of him.

And what he needs now and what the civil justice system provides for, under these circumstances, is the best possible medical care to absolutely maximize his recovery. And so we're going to fight for him for that.

And then, of course, finally, the fact that due process under the law, something that Jacob was not afforded in that situation, clearly, and that dignity and humanity and compassion, which is how policing ought to be practiced in this country, that it be applied to Jacob, no different than it is applied to me, because we can all wonder that, if all else being equal, would I have been treated that way?

So, those are the things we're going to fight for.

Now I will pass it back to Mr. Crump and Mr. LaMarr. Excuse me.

CRUMP: Thank you. Thank you so much, Patrick.

Now you will here from Milwaukee native B'Ivory LaMarr, wonderful attorney, who's come from this city.

B'IVORY LAMARR, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF JACOB BLAKE: Thank you, attorney Crump.

[16:35:00]

I'm attorney B'Ivory LaMarr representing the Blake family, along with the legal team that you see before us today.

I want to first start by thanking all of the supporters locally, as well as nationally, for all the prayer and support that you have shown this family. They're very grateful for the many acknowledgments that you have provided.

The question that we have -- that we charge America with today is, how many more examples of police brutality do we need to effectuate change? How many more? How many more marches do we have to partake in to get change?

We have a very clear example. If George Floyd wasn't clear enough. Today we stand before you with another one, another example. Today is about accountability. And it starts locally. And we have talked before about how local issues become national issues.

Today, we want to see how the Kenosha Police Department is going to respond to another event of police brutality. How long is it going to take to terminate this -- the officers that were involved in this tragedy? How long?

We're within the first 48 hours right now. Let's see if our marching, let's see if our advocacy is making a change, because we don't need any more examples. Heaven is full to its capacity with victims who have been taken at the hands of law enforcement. It's at capacity.

And that's probably one of the reasons why Jacob lives today. So, we ask now for change. We ask for everyone's continued support. We're demanding the police department to take swift action. We ask for transparency. We ask for our local and governmental officials to act swiftly to enforce legislation.

It's not so much about creating new legislation. It's about enforcing what's on the books now. And that's what we call for. That's what this family wants. And we will not stop until we get it.

Black lives matter. And it's very expensive. It's very expensive. And you will see the expense that the taxpayers have the burden on when you do not hold law enforcement accountable for their actions.

America, this is the time for change. We have a group of local activists in Milwaukee who have marched from Milwaukee that are headed their way to D.C. as we speak. This is not a local issue. This is a national issue.

I will join attorney Ben Crump this week in D.C. as we march on Washington to protest these same -- these very same issues. America, we're watching. The world is watching. Let's make a change.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Attorney LaMarr.

CRUMP: Thank you, attorney LaMarr.

And thank you, attorney Salvi, for giving details about his medical status.

You know, the one thing that the doctor said to Julia and the family was, there will be surgeries. And even though he is stable, they are very concerned about bacterial meningitis when you have to have multiple surgeries.

Julia and I and the family, we were hopeful that he wouldn't have to have the surgery. Went to see him today, and was surprised to learn that they had to rush him into surgery.

So, please continue to pray for him. Remember, as attorney LaMarr said, the March on Washington, the Commitment March that took place -- that is being convened in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

And I know Reverend Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III was questioned over and over again about having this much at this time during the COVID pandemic. And they said to me, attorney Crump, we can't lose this moment. We

can't lose this moment to confront this other pandemic of racism and discrimination, especially in policing in America.

[16:40:00]

And, so, it's so profound that the week leading up to the March on Washington, the Commitment March, talking about policing in America, that we offer two more exhibits, two more exhibits within 48 hours of each other in vivid detail, on video.

When you are looking at the video in Lafayette, Louisiana, where Trayford Pellerin and how 10 officers following him and shot him 11 times and killed him. That was exhibit one.

Right here, attorney Salvi, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, we give you exhibit two, Blake Sr. and Julia's son shot at least seven times because of brutal, excessive force, a lack of humanity, just like the lack of humanity we saw with George Floyd, brutal, excessive force. Seven times in the back, point-blank range?

I think Reverend Al and Martin Luther King III, without ever desiring to do so, have exhibits while we have this march, to change the culture and the behavior of policing in America, before we have another unarmed black person killed unjustifiably, and we have yet another hashtag that we're meeting while another city is burning and under protest.

How many more? That's why we're marching on Washington. I know members of the Blake family have been invited to join George Floyd family, Breonna Taylor family, and other families, Pastor, so we can make the case that we love our children too, that we don't want to continue to have to bury our children.

Julia doesn't want to have to sit with her child for the next weeks, months, years while they go through rehab. These little boys, these three little boys, are going to have psychological problems for the rest of their life.

Can you imagine what his 8-year-old son, who was celebrating his birthday, is going to think about every time he has his birthday? The pain in his father? Can you imagine? This is real. This is real, America. This is real.

This is what we have to endure every day, being profiled by the people who are supposed to protect and serve us.

At this time, we're going to hear from his sister, Latisha Weidman (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am my brother's keeper.

And when you say the name Jacob Blake, make sure you say father, make sure you say cousin, make sure you say son, make sure you say uncle, but, most importantly, make sure you say human, human life. Let it marinate in your mouth, in your mind, a human life, just like

every single one of you all and everywhere else. We're human. And his life matters.

So many people have reached out to me, telling me they're sorry that this happened to my family. Well, don't be sorry, because this has been happening to my family for a long time, longer than I can account for.

It happened to Emmett Till. Emmett Till is my family. Philando, Mike Brown, Sandra. This has been happening to my family. And I have shed tears for every single one of these people that it's happened to.

[16:45:05]

This is nothing new. I'm not sad. I'm not sorry. I'm angry. And I'm tired. I haven't cried one time. I stopped crying years ago. I am numb. I have been watching police murder people that look like me for years.

I'm also a black history minor. So not only have I been watching it in the 30 years that I have been on this planet, but I have been watching it for years before we were even alive.

I'm not sad. I don't want your pity. I want change.

CRUMP: Thank you.

You sense the pain and the reality that this is real, America. I know a lot of you are watching in on television in abstract. But, for black America, this is our reality. And that's why we're having this Commitment March.

I was telling Senator Kamala Harris and the Congressional Black Caucus members, we have to pass this George Floyd Justice in Policing Accountability Act. We have to. We can't let another day go by, because every day is the potential of another hashtag.

And I challenge anybody to tell me that I'm not speaking facts, that it might be another city in another state, but it seems like the screen -- the scripted narrative is the same, unarmed black person killed unjustifiably. The police shoot first and figure out how to justify it later.

And, oh, by the way, we got the legal system in our back pocket. They figure out how to justify it. This is real.

At this time, we will you hear from his sister, Megan Belcher (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm the baby. I'm his negal beagle (ph).

He was my light. I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm crying because I know how upset he is that his family's upset right now, not that he's -- not because where he is, but because his family is hurting. He loves his family.

You -- you all took him from his family, because you all stood by and let it happen. I just want my brother -- I just want my brother.

CRUMP: Thank you, Megan.

And, finally, we will hear from his sister Zanitha Blake -- Zaitha (ph) Blake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For as long as I can remember, me and my brother were like twins. That's my twin.

We looked exactly the same. People used to joke at us, like, hah, hah, hah, you look the boy version of him. Hah, hah, hah, he looks like the girl version of you.

We got a lot of insiders, a lot of things just between us, because we are like this. To know that I just can't pick up the phone and call with my brother and joke with him before we go to bed, like we do just about every night, I can't call and see what he's doing with the kids, because he's very active with his children. His kids are his world, but not only that. His family is his world.

And my little sister said, he's upset because we're hurt. We're upset. He doesn't even care about himself. He's more so worried about us.

He was not treated like a human that day. He was treated like some foreign object that didn't belong. How much more inhumane treatment are we going to have to deal with before the world makes a change? Something's got to change.

I don't care how he comes out of this. I'm just grateful that he's alive, because all these other stories, the big difference is, they didn't make it. But my brother made it, because he is a survivor.

[16:50:08]

CRUMP: Thank you.

I would ask if attorney Salvi, attorney LaMarr and Ms. Julia will come back up. We will try to answer a few of your questions.

Ms. Julia.

It was too much for his father to bear. So, he was going to be up here, trying to answer some questions as well. But we will try to take just a few.

QUESTION: Ben, you represent families that are going through what these folks are going through. Why do you think this keeps happening?

CRUMP: Deliberate indifference, absolutely deliberate indifference.

People question why we have to say black lives matter. This is why, because Julia and Jacob Sr.'s son was not treated with the humanity that we often give our white brothers and sisters. And it has to stop, and it has to stop at the highest levels of our government.

That really is what this is about, people at the top saying, police, we cannot allow this to happen. Prosecutors, we cannot allow this to happen. Judges, we cannot allow this to happen anymore. We cannot turn a blind eye to the deliberate indifference that was showed to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Joelle Escobedo (ph) in Milwaukee, Rayshard Brooks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trayvon Martin.

CRUMP: Trayvon Martin.

The list goes on and on. I was just counting this year. I'm just talking about in the last few months. And now Julia's son, her only biological son, is the latest example of this deliberate indifference that America shows to black people.

And so it's going to take a lot of prayer. Thank God her and Pastor Boyd (ph) and this family is a prayer family, to try to not only heal him, but also to try to heal his children, his family and heal this community.

Next question.

QUESTION: As the state Department of Justice is investigating this, one of the central questions is what happened in the minutes and seconds leading up to that altercation.

Can you offer us a little bit of a timeline as to what the family understands occurred in those key moments?

CRUMP: Well, the facts have not been confirmed yet. They have given statements to the police. The police just haven't given statements to the family.

And it's kind of ironic how that always happens. They want them to talk, but they won't talk. And what we are demanding is transparency. If there's dash-cam video, Sara (ph), we want you all to get it, because this family has already asked for answers, have gotten none.

We have scheduled a call to the governor. And we want to thank the governor for assisting attorney LaMarr attorney Salvi and our legal team in at least letting Julia see her baby. I mean, you're talking about just insult on top of injury. She was denied the opportunity to see her child initially, right, Pastor Boyd?

And they were turned away at the hospital. So, we're going to talk to him. And we're going to ask -- before you keep demanding stuff from this family, why don't you demand something from these police officers that shot him at least seven times in the back?

What was there justification? And it's so strange. It's so crazy, Mr. Blake, that, when there's video of certain people in the community, they say, oh, that's all we need to arrest somebody and charge somebody.

But when it's them doing something nefarious to a person of color, they say, oh, oh, no, no, don't just take the video. You got to put it in context. Don't have a rush to judgment. But didn't they rush to judgment when they shot Jacob? Didn't they rush to judgment when they shot Trayford down in Lafayette, Louisiana? Didn't they rush to judgment when they shot Rayshard Brooks?

I mean, Breonna Taylor. I mean, why is it double standards? We can't have two justice systems in America. We keep saying this out after every tragedy. We can't have a justice system for black America and one for white America. We have to have one justice system for everybody.

[16:55:05]

Yes.

QUESTION: Does Jacob know what has been unfolding the last couple of days? And does he have a message? Does he have anything he wants to convey or say?

JULIA JACKSON, MOTHER OF JACOB BLAKE: He does not know what's going on?

When I was able to see him -- and I'm grateful that that opportunity was finally open to me -- the first thing he did when he looked at me was cried, and then begin to say, "I'm sorry about all of this."

I don't really think he knows what happened at this point. He's not there yet.

I asked him, "Jacob, did you shoot yourself in the back?"

He looked at me, and he said, "No."

I said, "Then why are you sorry?"

He says: "Because I don't want a burden on anybody. I want to be with my children. And I don't think I'm going to walk again, mom."

(CROSSTALK)

CRUMP: Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.

Mr. Blake, do you want to say -- hold on. hold on.

Mr. Blake -- Mr. Blake is going to see his son for the first time. He just got into town.

Do you want to say anything?

JACOB BLAKE SR., FATHER OF JACOB BLAKE: I just wanted (INAUDIBLE) question...

CRUMP: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Do you have confidence... (CROSSTALK)

BLAKE: No. No, I do not.

QUESTION: You don't have confidence...

BLAKE: I don't have confidence.

Anybody that is white that is doing an investigation about a black young man that was shot seven times in his back and hasn't come up with an answer or comment at this point is not -- is not welcome, is not welcome.

(CROSSTALK)

CRUMP: Go ahead, Sara. Go ahead, Sara.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His background has nothing to do with it.

CRUMP: OK.

QUESTION: Can you give us an idea of how his children are doing who witnessed all of this?

BLAKE: They are -- they are stuck right now. We're going to seek out some of the best child psychologists in the United States.

And we're going to work with them and let them -- the whole picture, that it plays over and over in front of their little faces. All my grandson asks repeatedly is: "Why did the police shoot my daddy in the back?"

How would you feel if your white son walked up to you, as a mother and said: "Mommy, why did the police shoot my daddy in the back?"

You have no clue.

CRUMP: OK.

QUESTION: Is the prosecutor going to make an arrest?

CRUMP: We're demanding that the prosecutor arrest the officer who shot Jacob Blake.

And we also are asking that these officers who violated the policies in their training be terminated immediately.

BLAKE: Immediately.

CRUMP: All right, last...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) does not matter? (OFF-MIKE)

CRUMP: No, no, we will address that.

It's always out after they try to assassinate us in person, they then try to assassinate our character. And the reality is, they know nothing about Jacob before that moment that they made that decision.

Last question.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

CRUMP: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

JACKSON: Yes, he's not there yet.

(CROSSTALK)

BLAKE: I do want to say....

SALVI: He's in a lot of pain.

CRUMP: Yes.

And say that again, Patrick.

SALVI: He is on a lot of pain medication.

JACKSON: Yes, he is on...

SALVI: You heard the injuries that I described.

You can imagine. He's got some lucidity, but not completely.

JACKSON: No.

SALVI: So, we will look forward to that discussion with Jacob.

CRUMP: Hold on. Hold on. Julia is answering this last question about what he was able to say to them.

JACKSON: He -- when I began to pray for him, he told me to stop. He asked the police officer that was in the room with us if he was a man of faith. He responded yes, in short.

He asked him to pray with us. The three of us prayed together.

CRUMP: Wow.

QUESTION: Can tell us at why he was going back to the car?

CRUMP: That's it. Come on. Come on. Come on.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Well, that was a very, very emotional, very powerful news conference, Ben Crump, the attorney representing the family of Jacob Blake, the young man who was shot in the back at least, we're now told, seven times by a white police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, yesterday.

He's in very serious condition, still going through surgery, may be paralyzed, potentially, according to Ben Crump, for the rest of his life.

They're all hoping for a miracle. We heard from other attorneys. We heard from several family members.

Omar Jimenez is on the scene for us in Kenosha right now.

[17:00:00]