MILWAUKEE — The shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday by Wisconsin police happened quickly, with less than three minutes elapsing between the time the first officer arrived and shots being fired, according to dispatch audio.
Here is a timeline of the shooting pieced together from police radio transmissions, Kenosha police, video and witnesses. The police radio traffic is from Broadcastify, a platform for streaming live audio of public safety, aircraft, rail and marine-related communications.
The Journal Sentinel, a part of the USA TODAY Network, typically does not rely on such radio traffic to report on breaking news, as the information can change or be inaccurate. But this audio reveals some of what police officers were hearing, and the time stamps provide a general time frame of the shooting.
Police have not released an account of what happened. Kenosha police officers are not equipped with body cameras. Officers have dashboard cameras in their squad cars but authorities did not say if any part of the shooting had been captured on those cameras.
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The incident is being investigated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation, which has said it will attempt to present its findings to prosecutors within 30 days.
Sometime before 5 p.m. Sunday
A neighbor sees Jacob Blake barbecuing outside his apartment at 2805 40th St.
5:11 p.m.
Officers are sent to Blake’s address for a complaint of “family trouble.” A dispatcher notifies officers that a woman called police and said Blake “isn’t supposed to be there and he took the complainant’s keys and is refusing to give them back.”
The dispatcher tells officers that there’s an alert for a person wanted for some reason, known in police radio code as a 10-99, at that address. Blake had a warrant issued for his arrest stemming from a domestic case in May.
5:12:07 p.m.
An officer tells the dispatcher he is close but has not yet arrived at the call.
5:13:47 p.m.
One of the officers assigned to the call asks dispatchers for a description of Blake. The dispatcher tells officers that the woman now says Blake is trying to leave. The dispatcher tries to get a description of Blake’s vehicle but she tells officers that the woman has become uncooperative, and the type of vehicle or what state it’s registered in are unknown.
The officer replies that he has arrived at the address.
5:14:28 p.m.
A second officer arrives at the scene.
5:15:37 p.m.
A third officer urgently radios dispatchers asking for more officers. The dispatcher sends three more squads.
Around this time, a bystander shoots a video that shows Blake and two officers scuffling on the ground on the passenger side of a small gray SUV.
Less than two minutes have passed since the first officer arrived.
A different video, this one shot by a neighbor in a second-story apartment across the street, shows this scene from the driver’s side: Three officers, two male and one female, have their guns drawn and are behind Blake as he walks from the sidewalk around the front of the SUV.
The two male officers follow Blake closely, aiming their guns at Blake as he opens the SUV driver’s side door.
As Blake attempts to enter the SUV, an officer grabs his shirt, then shoots him in the back at close range. Seven gunshots can be heard, followed by the car’s horn. A woman who followed them to the SUV screams.
5:15:50 p.m.
An officer reports “shots fired.”
Another officer tells the dispatcher radio traffic should go to a restricted channel so the public cannot hear. The dispatcher asks if all of the police officers are OK.
An officer at the scene tells dispatch: “We need rescue ASAP.”
5:18 p.m.
The dispatcher tells officers that Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputies are on their way and the Wisconsin State Patrol is being notified. An outside agency, later identified as the Wisconsin Department of Justice, will handle the investigation.
Additional video shot by bystanders shows police officers working to save Blake’s life as he lies on the ground in a pool of blood. He is loaded into an ambulance, which is driven about eight blocks to Bradford High School. There, a Flight for Life helicopter awaits.
8:03 p.m.
Kenosha police release a brief statement saying Blake, whom they do not name, is in serious condition at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa.
12:18 a.m. Monday
The Department of Justice issues a news release saying the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted.
Contributing: Jordyn Noenning, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jacob Blake shooting: Timeline of events, according to dispatch audio
