Fire Damage From Kenosha Unrest Tops $11 Million

Topline

 Protests and riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, have caused $11 million in fire damage to the city, Fire Chief Charles Leipzig said, in the aftermath of unrest from the death of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by a white police officer answering a domestic dispute call.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“We have a record fire loss and some injuries as a result of the current events. … You’re looking at $11 million in fire loss. To put into context, that’s three years of fire loss for us in the span of about a week. And we also sent some people to the hospital. It has not been a very pleasant month,” Leipzig said, according to the Kenosha News.

Key Background

 Demonstrations against police brutality have spread across the U.S. since the death of George Floyd earlier this year. In more than 93% of Black Lives Matter demonstrations, protesters did not engage in violence or destructive activity, according to a report issued earlier this month by The US Crisis Monitor.

Tangent

Kenosha has suffered far less damage than Minneapolis, which was hit with an estimated $500 million in damages and more than 1,500 destroyed buildings after George Floyd’s death.