Court officials ruled that Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer Rustin Sheskey, who shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black father, in the back seven times over the summer, will not face criminal charges.

Blake's three children were in the SUV he'd been walking toward when the Aug. 23 shooting occurred, CBS News reports. 

“My decision now that I announce today is that no Kenosha law enforcement officer in this case will be charged with any criminal offense,” Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said during a Tuesday press conference. 

At the conference, Graveley also announced that no other members of the police department will be charged for the shooting. Ahead of any public backlash, Gov. Tony Evers called for an emergency declaration for Wisconsin National Guard to support local law enforcement agencies after officials cited they were concerned about community safety, Heavy reports. Five-hundred National Guard troops were deployed to Kenosha on Monday night. 

“This is a tragedy, first and foremost for Jacob Blake,” Graveley said. “This is a tragedy for those who love Jacob Blake.” 

Graveley said the case’s evaluation was “clearly a dramatically exhaustive investigation,” and added that he spoke with Blake’s children to better comprehend the damage the shooting caused to the community. The attorney said forty hours of video footage was reviewed during the investigation. 

“Clearly this has been a tragedy for this community. We have seen based on the results of what has happened in the aftermath that there are…people who come here who are capable of expressing their anger in these moments by burning these things down,” Graveley said.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump responded to the announcement on Twitter.

“This isn’t the news we hoped for, but our work is not done and hope is not lost," the lawyer wrote. "We must broaden the fight for justice on behalf of Jacob Blake and the countless other Black victims of racial injustice and police brutality.”

He added, “We will continue to press forward with our own investigation and fight for systemic change in policing and transparency at all levels. We urge Americans to continue to raise their voices and demand change in peaceful and positive ways during this emotional time.”

As Blavity previously reported, Blake’s father says his son is paralyzed and will need a miracle to be able to walk again. Blake’s uncle, Justin Blake, said last month that the officer needs to be fired, indicted, and tried in court, according to The Kenosha News. 

“You can’t get away from the systemic racism that we see daily. We’re going to continue to not let them push it to the side. We’re going to keep it right on top of the table so we can deal with it,” Justin said.

Jacob Blake