Rusten Sheskey, the officer who shot Jacob Blake, is a former campus officer who investigated a hate crime, and said he liked being a cop because 'people trust us'

• The police officer who shot Jacob Blake was named as Rusten Sheskey by the Wisconsin Department of Justice on Wednesday.
• Sheskey was made an officer with the Kenosha Police Department on April 1, 2013. Before that he worked as an officer at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus.
• On March 11, 2017, Sheskey was suspended one for one day without pay, after "violating department policies and procedures" to do with vehicles.
• In a 2019 local news interview, he said of being an officer "you're dealing with people on perhaps the worst day of their lives and you can try and help them... for the most part, people trust us to do that for them."
• Blake, who was shot seven times by Sheskey on Sunday, is paralyzed from the waist down, his family said.
• Sheskey has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation continues.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice on Wednesday named the police officer who shot Jacob Blake as Rusten Sheskey.

"Officer Rusten Sheskey fired his service weapon seven times. Officer Sheskey fired the weapon into Mr. Blake's back. No other officer fired their weapon," the department said in a press release.

Blake is paralyzed from the waist down and remains in the ICU, his family said Tuesday.

Protests denouncing racism that erupted in Kenosha on Monday have carried on each night, with buildings torched, and protesters clashing with armed civilians protecting local businesses.

On Tuesday night, two people were killed after 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse opened fire on protesters.

Here's what Insider knows so far about Sheskey:

• Sheskey was made an officer with the Kenosha Police Department on April 1, 2013, according to the department's 2013 annual report.
• In an August 2019 interview with The Kenosha News, Sheskey said of his work: "What I like most is that you're dealing with people on perhaps the worst day of their lives and you can try and help them as much as you can and make that day a little bit better. And that, for the most part, people trust us to do that for them."
• He continued: "It's a huge responsibility, and I really like trying to help the people. We may not be able to make a situation right, or better, but we can maybe make it a little easier for them to handle during that time."
• On March 11, 2017, Sheskey was suspended one for one day without pay for "violating department policies and procedures, 17.6 Safe Operation of Department Vehicles," according to city records. The details of the violation are not clear.
• Before joining the Kenosha Police Department, he he spent three years with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Police Department.
• While on duty at the college, in February 2012, Sheskey investigated three alleged hate crimes, The Journal Times reported at the time, after "a noose was found in a campus dorm, a second noose and a note that threatened the student who reported the noose, and fliers that named about a dozen African-American students and said they would die in two days."
• The only Facebook page to use the name Rusten Sheskey has a American flag with a thin blue line on it, a common sign of support for US law enforcement.
• The only Instagram account to use the name Rusten Sheskey is private and has a photo of a dog as the profile picture.
• A LinkedIn account in Sheskey's name lists "CSO at University of Wisconsin-Parkside" as a past job title.
• A man named Garrett Michael posted a photo a man resembling Sheskey with a woman called Katy in April 2017. The post said: "In case you haven't heard my brother popped the question and she said yes! Congratulations Rusten."
• An online wedding directory notes that a Rusten Sheskey married a Katy Sparks from Kenosha, Wisconsin, on September 23, 2017.
• Sheskey's grandfather, Oreste Maraccini, served on the Kenosha Police Department "for many years," according to an October 2014 Facebook post from the department.

In a press release published on Tuesday, the department said the shooting investigation is active and ongoing. Sheskey is on administrative leave while that happens.

A federal investigation has been opened into the shooting, Matthew Krueger, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, said Wednesday.