SPOKANE, Wash — Protesters marched through downtown Spokane - with stops at Spokane City Hall, the Spokane County Courthouse and Riverfront Park - in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as he leaned into his SUV. Video of the shooting went viral on social media.
The 29-year-old is in serious condition.
7:00 p.m.
The Human Rights Activist Coterie of Spokane held a candlelight vigil for Jacob Blake and victims of police brutality outside of Spokane City Hall.
KREM 2's Morgan Trau estimates about 15 people showed up to listen to speakers and reflect.
"People are dying and we need to stop that," said HRAC Spokane member Emily Peters. "We need acknowledge it, and we need to draw attention to it and pay our respects for those people as well."
The organization's next goal is to cancel the killology police training that is scheduled for October. Her team has been holding rallies during the weekends this summer, and plan on continuing until the police shut down their program.
"We want to make sure that we start to see more police oversight," she added. "
And that we are not over funding the police, that we don't have a militarized police force."
5:45 p.m.
Most of the protesters have left the Riverfront Park area as of about 5:45 p.m.
Organizers of the protest told KREM that they don't plan on stopping the protests until changes are made in the United States.
There was a large police presence today, according to KREM 2's Morgan Trau.
"This is our job," said SPD's Terry Preuninger. "We took an oath, we're going to protect you whether you like us or not, so we will stay down here and do what we're supposed to do."
The protest remained peaceful throughout the day.
4:00 p.m.
Marchers have arrived at Spokane City Hall at the March for Jacob Blake. Speakers are talking to the crowd.
3:00 p.m.
Protesters are beginning their march from Riverfront Park to the county courthouse across the Monroe street bridge, and then to city hall.
Marchers are chanting "Black Lives Matter," and "Jacob Blake, Michael Brown, shut the whole system down," among other protest chants.
Bicycle cops are following the march according to KREM 2's Morgan Trau.
2:27 p.m.
Speakers are talking to the crowd gathering at the Red Wagon in Riverfront Park at the protest for Jacob Blake.
KREM 2's Morgan Trau who is at the protest estimates about 500 people are in attendance.
River Park Square Mall is open but was unable to comment on if there were extra security guards at the mall.
2:05 p.m.
A crowd is gathering for the March for Jacob Blake in Riverfront Park. The crowd is gathering at the Red Wagon. There will also be a vehicle procession for those needing to socially distance.
The march is planned for Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The southeastern Wisconsin city became the nation's latest flashpoint in a summer of racial unrest after cellphone footage of police shooting Blake as he leaned into his SUV — apparently, while three of his children were sitting in the vehicle — circulated widely on social media. The 29-year-old was hospitalized in serious condition. Jacob Blake Protest
Two people were shot to death and another person was wounded during the third night of protests in Kenosha on Wednesday night, CBS News reports.
The event page also mentions Tyler Rambo, who is charged with shooting at a man at Coeur d'Alene's fourth of July gathering in 2019. He is also accused of pointing a gun at a woman and shooting at officers during a foot chase.
"[Rambo] is now the victim of a smear campaign by a racist judicial system that is trying to bury him in the system. Tyler has court coming up in November, and his case needs to gain the attention of the national media before then," the page says.
Rambo faces 12 charges total, with eight counts of battery against a police officer, one charge of attempted second-degree murder, an aggravated assault charge, and two drug charges unrelated to the incident.
Rambo was shot multiple times by eight Coeur d'Alene police officers resulting in the complete loss of both of his legs. Rambo filed a lawsuit against the City of Coeur d'Alene for $9 million, alleging that he had his hands in the air at the time he was tased. The claim goes on to say that the taser forced Rambo to lose control of his muscles, causing him to involuntarily fire his gun at the officers.
PHOTOS: March for Jacob Blake at Riverfront Park
Around 190 people responded on Facebook that they will attend the march, which is organized by Occupy Spokane, Stronger Together Spokane and a handful of other activist groups, with nearly 659 who are interested.
Organizers are asking participants to wear masks.
Spokane Police tweeted Sunday morning asking protest leaders and participants to remain peaceful. "Community should expect police to protect safety and property if peaceful assembly morphs into criminal activity," the tweet reads.
Blake's father told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday that his son has “eight holes” in his body and is paralyzed from the waist down, though doctors don't know if the paralysis will be permanent.
Police in the former auto manufacturing center of 100,000 people midway between Milwaukee and Chicago said they were responding to a call about a domestic dispute. They did not say whether Blake was armed or why police opened fire, they released no details on the domestic dispute, and they did not immediately disclose the race of the three officers at the scene.
The man who claimed to have made the video said that he saw Blake scuffling with three officers and heard them yell, “Drop the knife! Drop the knife!" before the gunfire erupted. He said he didn't see a knife in Blake's hands.
The march for Blake in Spokane comes after protesters gathered at the Spokane County Courthouse on Sunday, Aug. 23, in support of defunding the police. About 150 counter-protesters rallied in support of local law enforcement.
The rally was mostly calm until protesters and counter-protesters started exchanging insults.
In recent months, protesters in Spokane have also rallied against a training from the founder of "Killology Research Group" that is planned for Spokane County Sheriff's deputies and police brutality following the shooting deaths of Black men and women nationwide.
The Spokane Police Department announced in mid-June that it had arrested a total of 23 people in relation to the May 31 unrest that followed a peaceful protest downtown over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
