The DOJ won't pursue federal civil rights charges against Rusten Sheskey, the Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back 7 times

• The police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times will not face federal charges.
• Prosecutors said there wasn't enough evidence to prove Rusten Sheskey "willfully used excessive force."

The Department of Justice will not pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against Rusten Sheskey, the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back, according to a statement posted Friday.

The decision comes after a team of prosecutors from the Civil Rights Division and the US Attorney's Office determined there wasn't enough evidence to prove Sheskey "willfully used excessive force."

"After a careful and thorough review, a team of experienced federal prosecutors determined that insufficient evidence exists to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the KPD officer willfully violated the federal criminal civil rights statutes," the statement said. "Accordingly, the review of this incident has been closed without a federal prosecution."

On August 23, 2020, Blake was trying to break up a fight between his girlfriend and their neighbor. As Blake tried to remove his children from the scene and drive away, Booker called 911, telling the dispatcher he was trying to steal her rental car.

Blake had a warrant out for his arrest, so when officers arrived, they tried to arrest him.

After a failed attempt to subdue Blake with a Taser, Sheskey grabbed Blake and shot him seven times in the back.

In January, the district attorney of Kenosha County announced he wouldn't file charges against Sheskey and the other two officers on the scene because prosecutors determined the shooting was in self-defense.

The video of Sheskey shooting Blake went viral. Protests against racial injustice and police brutality followed.

While Blake survived the incident, he has neuropathy, a condition where damaged nerves cause sharp pain. Two of the shots blew out two of his vertebrae, damaging his spinal cord, colon, small intestine, kidney, and liver.