Jacob Blake’s shooting pains some Dayton residents still reeling from Floyd’s death

Demmings said it was painful to see yet another unarmed black person be gunned down by law enforcement.

“We keep seeing this happen over and over again, which is really traumatic for people,” she said. “When I see stuff like that, I cry, because that could be anyone I’m related to.”

Blake’s shooting has sparked civil unrest in some Wisconsin cities and other communities across the country, as well as some high-profile public stands from sports stars and commentators and celebrities.

Professional athletes in the NBA, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the WNBA decided to boycott their games scheduled for Wednesday in an unprecedented protest.

The Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers decided not to play on Wednesday.

The NBA postponed multiple playoff games and it’s not entirely clear what will happen next, though it appears that players may resume competition this weekend.

Demmings said there’s almost never enough time to properly process, mourn and reflect on tragedies like this shooting because inevitably another violent encounter with law enforcement happens somewhere in America that shocks the nation and grabs the national spotlight.

But Demmings said people are fed up and demand accountability because these kinds of acts cannot continue to go on.

“This can only happen so many more times in America,” she said. “It’s just ridiculous, and we have to do better.”

Members of the WNBA Washington Mystics basketball team, before walking off the court and refusing to play, wore shirts that spelled out Blake’s name and each had seven holes cut out of the back representing the seven times he was shot.

The shooting also caused renewed outrage and frustration in the local community.

After nearly three months of civil unrest and widespread protests, “this attempted murder of yet another Black man shows how little has changed,” said Andrew Cheadle, a member of Miami Valley Abolitionists.

And after Blake’s shooting, two protesters were murdered and another was injured in Wisconsin by a white male teen who carried a firearm illegally across state lines and who was not was immediately arrested by police at the scene and was able to return home, Cheadle said. The teen was later arrested on homicide charges.

“Despite this clear and damning evidence of what is happening, people continue to be more upset by burning buildings and broken windows than by a murdered Black man or the bodies of protesters who bled out littering the street,” Cheadle said.

Miami Valley Abolitionists is organizing a protest at 2 p.m. Sunday at Courthouse Square that is called “Dayton Stands with Jacob Blake.”

The event seeks to bring people together so they can voice their anger, anguish and painful feelings, Cheadle said.

“We want to facilitate and provide a space for people to speak out against these crimes and to provide a forum for those who so often go unheard,” he said.

According to an article by the Associated Press, the president of the Kenosha police union said the video of the shooting circulating online “does not capture all the intricacies of a highly dynamic incident.”

The Wisconsin Department of Justice said Blake was shot after officers attempted to arrest him and after police unsuccessfully attempted to use a taser on him, according to a press release from the agency. The department, which is investigating the incident, said authorities recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of Blake’s vehicle, but he had no other weapons.

Blake’s attorney says the shooting left his client paralyzed.

George Floyd’s murder led to a political and social awakening that resulted in high levels of civic engagement and activism, including among some people who previously were on the sidelines of the social justice movement, said Yolanda Simpson, member of Black Lives Matter Miami Valley.

Blake’s shooting should intensify the calls for reforms, and citizens have put elected officials on notice that they want meaningful changes, possibly like the end of qualified immunity for police officers or defunding police agencies or restructuring police departments to try to eliminate systemic racism, she said.

Police put their lives on the line and have very difficult jobs, but law enforcement agencies need to change how they police communities, especially those made up of people of color, Simpson said.

The militarization of police is a problem, and maybe police shouldn’t respond to calls about mental health and drug addiction issues, and instead focus more heavily on violent crimes and other high-priority offenses, she said.

Some resources possibly should be redirected to social assistance programs that try to address racism, poverty, unemployment and other harmful problems, she said,

Blake was shot in Wisconsin, but his shooting impacts all Black Americans, Simpson said, also noting comments made by Blake’s sister, Letetra Widman.

Widman said many people have told her they are sorry this happened to her family. But Widman said this has kind of violence has been happening to her family for a long time, and her family includes Emmett Till, Philando Castile, Mike Brown and Sandra Bland.

Simpson said, “What we recognize in the African-American community is that we’re all family. If it happens to one, it happens to all.”

Simpson said that’s how all Americans should feel when bad things happens to each other.

The protests by pro athletes is drawing attention to racism and police misconduct, and hopefully those platforms will reach people who don’t live in urban communities and aren’t regularly exposed to the struggles of the Black community, Demmings said.

Demmings, the executive director of Dayton Young Black Professionals, also is a member of one of five committees focused on making police reforms in Dayton.

Demmings said she believes these reform committees are a step in the right direction, though she of course can’t be sure it will work.

If it doesn’t, Demmings says she’s confident there will be many community members who will demand a different approach and will want to try something else.

Something needs to happen because Black citizens are being mistreated by police across the country and also in the Dayton region, it just doesn’t necessarily make the news, Demmings said.

Demmings said her first interaction with law enforcement occurred when she was 19.

She said she was pulled out of a vehicle and slammed to the ground. She said police tore up her shirt and she had scratch marks.

Demmings said bad interactions like this need to be reported and addressed it should be much easier for citizens to provide feedback and know there’s some accountability.