Kenosha unrest causes $2M in damage to city-owned property
In this Aug. 24, 2020 file photo, police stand near a garbage truck ablaze during protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. In the span of 48 hours, two Black men in U.S. cities hundreds of miles apart were shot by police in episodes that set off a national conversation about the need for officers to open fire on people walking away from them.[AP/ Morry Gash]
Damage to city-owned property from violence that erupted over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha is estimated at nearly $2 million so far, a city official said.
The city’s public works director, Shelly Billingsley, provided the estimate to local leaders Monday night on what it would cost to replace garbage trucks, street lights and traffic signals, among other things that were destroyed or damaged in the unrest over the last week.
The estimate was made as some Kenosha residents fear Tuesday’s planned visit by President Donald Trump may stir more emotions and cause more violence and destruction in the southeastern Wisconsin city after several days of peace. Others, however, welcomed the president’s trip.
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Trump’s visit comes as demonstrators are calling for the Kenosha officer who shot Blake seven times in the back Aug. 23 to be fired and face attempted murder charges, and more than a week after authorities say a 17-year-old from northern Illinois shot and killed two protesters.
Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot while police responded to a call about a domestic dispute. His family on Tuesday plans to hold a community gathering at the site where he was shot that is to include a community clean-up, food drive and voter registration effort.
Mayor John Antaramian has said the city will request $30 million in aid from the state to help rebuild in the aftermath of the unrest. Some of the city’s garbage trucks, which were parked downtown to provide security and limit movement by protesters, were set on fire during the demonstrations.
Billingsley said they were insured and that city staff is working with the insurance company to log damage information, the Kenosha News reported. Some of the trucks, which had functioned as snow-plow vehicles in the winter, were also destroyed.
Billingsley said she hoped that the setback would not affect snow plow operations this winter. She told the Public Works Committee the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors could affect the timeline in obtaining the new trucks.
City staff continues to compile numbers from the damage, Billingsley said.