After being left paralyzed from the waist down in a near-fatal police shooting, Jacob Blake is breaking his silence from his hospital bed with a powerful and moving message Saturday (Sept. 5) evening.
The video message was shared to Twitter by Blake’s family attorney Benjamin Crump.
In the clip, Blake is lying in bed with his hospital gown on as he calmly tells listeners that there’s “a lot more life to live.”
“Your life, and not just only your life, your legs, something you need to move around and to move forward can be taken from you like this,” the 29-year-old says with the snap of his fingers.
He goes on to say that he has staples in his back and stomach while dealing with constant pain.
“It hurts to breathe,” he adds. “It hurts to sleep. It hurts to move from side-to-side. It hurts to eat. Please, I am telling you, change ya’ll lives out there. We can stick together.”
Blake was shot seven times by a Kenosha police officer on Aug. 26 while attempting to retrieve his driver’s license and nearly lost his life. He received medical treatment on the scene and was then transported to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, where he remained handcuffed to his hospital bed, although he was paralyzed.
Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department said that Blake was handcuffed to the bed because of outstanding warrants. He was later released from the restraints shortly after his father revealed to the Chicago Sun Times of his condition.
The shooting caused the Milwaukee Bucks to boycott their NBA playoff game and soon later, talks of putting an end to the NBA season came forth, followed by other sports organization teams choosing to sit out on games, too.
On Friday (Sept. 4), Blake made his first court appearance after being shot. He pleaded not guilty to a previous felony, misdemeanor criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. The judge approved a $10,000 signature bond and mandated that he can only leave the state for medical treatment.
A pre-trial conference is currently scheduled for Oct. 21. The jury selection process is set to begin Nov. 9.