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LeBron James on Jacob Blake Shooting: 'We Want JUSTICE'

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Aug. 25 2020, Updated 9:14 a.m. ET

There has been protests and outrage after two Wisconsin police officers shot a Black man multiple times in the back as he entered the driver's side door of his vehicle. Jacob Blake's three children—aged 3, 5, and 8—were in the car at the time.

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Blake is in stable condition in an intensive care unit, according to attorney Ben Crump. The officers have been placed on leave as state authorities investigate the incident. It is unclear whether video exists of the incident because the police officers only had cameras in their cars.

Bystanders told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Blake has been attempting to break up a fight between two women when police attended a domestic disturbance. Blake was reportedly tased by police before he was shot.

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"The irony is not lost on me that as Jacob Blake was actually trying to deescalate a situation in his community, but the responding officer didn't feel the need to do the same." Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes said.

"The police want everybody to know they're out here to protect and serve, but you guys are constantly giving us -- Black people, in particular -- reasons not to let you guys protect and serve," witness Raysean White, who filmed the incident, told CNN. "We don't want you guys around because we are scared for our lives. You come to an incident to disarm an argument, and this Black man gets shot. It wasn't supposed to go down that."

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Pete Deates, president of the Kenosha Professional Police Association, said there was more to the incident: "As always, the video currently circulating does not capture all the intricacies of a highly dynamic incident. We ask that you withhold from passing judgment until all the facts are known and released."

LeBron James, an avid supporter of Black Lives Matter, is one of those to have spoken out over the shooting. The basketball star wrote on Twitter: "And y’all wonder why we say what we say about the Police!! Someone, please tell me WTF is this???!!! Exactly another black man being targeted. This shit is so wrong and so sad!! Feel so sorry for him, his family, and OUR PEOPLE!! We want JUSTICE."

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"Excessive force by white Police officers on black people must stop," one fan wrote in response to James' tweet. "We must demand change and respect for black lives. White perps get into tussle with white officers but they dont get shot!!!"

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