The Kenosha Police Department (KPD) has Jacob Blake handcuffed to a hospital bed even though he is paralyzed and will probably never walk again. If one were to ask the KPD, why? They would probably answer that it is standard procedure to handcuff detainees in the hospital to prevent escape and that the rules do not include exceptions for people that are physically incapable of getting away. That is how law enforcement works, they relay on a set of rules no matter how ridiculous they are, and only think for themselves when finding excuses to justify their own failures to follow those rules. As someone that was taken to the hospital twice as a detainee in Portland, Oregon I will write the rest of this article in the first person by comparing my experiences to what I have heard about Mr. Blake's hospital visit and what appears to be a future prosecution.
In 2017 my left arm was brutally broken by Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) Deputy Timothy Barker in Portland, Oregon. I had threatened to dox him, other deputies, and a member of the medical staff that turned out the be Deputy Barker's wife on this website if they did not refrain from taking me to a disciplinary unit known as the hole (https://copblaster.com/blast/3410/multnomah-county-jail-brutality-x-rays-released). Their response was to take me to the hole, snap my let humerus in half, and leave me in agony after the supervising deputy said "I run this f*cking jail not you." Eventually medical came, said I had a broken arm, and called for an ambulance. If I recall correctly, my good arm was handcuffed to the stretcher and remained cuffed the entire time I was at the hospital. I was in far too much pain to pose any sort of threat to them, but that did not matter. They are obviously treating Jacob Blake the same way.
The fact that Blake is handcuffed shows that he is in police custody and will most likely be taken to the Kenosha County Jail when he is discharged from the hospital. He will then be booked on some unknown charge, placed in a medical unit, and arraigned the next day. Why would the KPD charge a man that they had just shot 7 times and paralyzed for life? To cover themselves when Blake sues them. They need to get a conviction of some sort to justify using force against Blake and the legal system does not consider the amount of force used or the effects of that force during the guilt phase of a criminal proceeding. It is not until sentencing that Blake's lawyer can argue that what happened to his client should be punishment enough. I personally spent over a year in federal custody as a pre-trial detainee because the deputies responsible for breaking my arm falsely accused me of assaulting them. Unlike Blake, I did not have the benefit of video footage, so I had to wait for an un-rebutted expert witness report before I was offered a plea deal of time served. All I had to admit to was throwing spicy chips at the deputies. I never had to admit to anything that was not true or supportive of their claim that my arm was broken during a forced cuffing. Still, lawyers don't want to take my brutality claim because I pled guilty to a crime where the guy that broke my arm is listed as the victim. They think that the context of a criminal defendant suing the named victim of the case will not likely be a profitable venture. One lawyer told me that he could see a jury finding in my favor and not awarding me any money due to the doxing and the guilty plea. Blake is of course far more likely to be successful in court, but the police will still do all they can to get him convicted of something so that they can minimize the consequences of shooting him 7 times. They don't care if the end result is unjust if that result is better for them.
One good thing that Blake has going for him as a detainee will be a complete lack of hospital bills for this hospital stay. I was fortunate not to have to pay any money for the medical care I received as an inmate. The quality of care at the jail was awful, but free. Even if the charges against Blake are dropped, he will still be considered a detainee, so the hospital bills will be paid by Kenosha County or the City of Kenosha.