Jacob Blake Speaks Out For the First Time Since He Was Shot by Police: "It Hurts to Breathe"

Jacob Blake has shared his first message with the public since he was shot multiple times by police officers on Aug. 23. Blake's lawyer, Ben Crump, posted his powerful and emotional statement on Twitter, in which the 29-year-old Black man addressed the painful injuries he is enduring after the shooting. He is now paralyzed from the waist down.

"There's a lot more life to live out here, man," Blake said in the clip. "Your life, and not only just your life, your legs, something that you need to move around and move forward in life, can be taken from you like this. I promise you, the type of sh*t that you will go through — I got staples in my back, staples in my damn stomach — you do not want to have to deal with this sh*t, man."

Blake explained that he deals with pain "every 24 hours." "It hurts to breathe, it hurts to sleep, it hurts to move from side to side, it hurts to eat," he continued. "Please, I'm telling you, change your lives out there. We can stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people out here, man, because there's so much time that has been wasted."

Blake's shooting served as the catalyst for many protests across the United States, as Black Americans continue to fight for racial justice and police reform. His family continue to speak out on his behalf as he heals. Watch Blake's address above, and consider making a donation to the official GoFundMe set up by his loved ones.