Jacob Blake gives hospital bed interview, does he get it now, it seems like maybe he found a calling

#JacobBlake #Hearing #Kenosha #Hospital #Arraignment #Felon #Paralyzed

Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, delivered a message to supporters Saturday from his hospital bed.

Blake said in a video shared on social media by his lawyer, Benjamin Crump, that he has "a lot more life to live" despite his life-altering injuries.

"Your life, and not only just your life, your legs - something you need to move around and move forward in life - can be taken from you like this," he said snapping his fingers. "I got staples in my back, staples in my d*** stomach. You don't want to have to deal with this."

Blake, wearing a hospital gown, said he experiences pain constantly.

"It hurts to breathe," he said. "It hurts to sleep."

Although Crump shared the video, it was not entirely clear who recorded it, and NBC News does not know the circumstances that occurred before it was recorded.

Blake pleaded not guilty Friday via videoconference to several charges, including s***** assault. He was propped up in his hospital bed, wearing a blue dress shirt and yellow tie as he appeared with his lawyer via Zoom before Kenosha County Commissioner Loren J. Keating.

Keating found there was enough evidence to send the matter to trial. Jury selection was set for Nov. 9.

Blake became one of the latest national symbols of police brutality against Black men after a Kenosha officer, who is white, appeared to shoot Blake in the back at close range last month. Police had been called to the area to respond to a domestic violence report.

Crump previously said Blake was "helping to de-escalate a domestic incident" when the officer shot him from behind as he walked away.