Jacob Blake says he was ready to surrender before being shot

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A Black man who was shot in the back by a white police officer in Wisconsin, triggering several nights of violent protests, says he was prepared to surrender just before the officer opened fire.

Jacob Blake said in an interview broadcast Thursday by ABC’s “Good Morning America” that his pocketknife fell from his pants during a struggle with Kenosha police who were trying to arrest him Aug. 23 on an outstanding warrant.

He says he picked it up and prepared to put it in his vehicle. Officer Rusten Sheskey told investigators that he feared that Blake was going to stab him, so he opened fire.

A Wisconsin prosecutor last week declined to file charges against Sheskey, concluding he couldn’t disprove the officer’s contention that he acted in self-defense.