UN rights office says Blake shooting was ‘excessive’

The UN human rights office yesterday said that the images of the shooting of Black man Jacob Blake in Wisconsin appeared to show that the police officer had used "excessive" force that was likely discriminatory in nature.

Sunday's shooting, captured on video, showed Blake was shot in the back by a white police officer as three of his young children watched. The footage has gone viral and set off angry protests.

"From the images available that we've seen at this point, the police appear to have used force against Jacob Blake that would seem to be excessive," Rupert Colville said at a virtual briefing in Geneva, saying the use of force did not appear to comply with international standards.