Fifty-five people are facing charges related to violent demonstrations in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake last summer, police said Friday.

A Black man who was paralyzed after he was shot in the back by a white police officer in southeastern Wisconsin filed a civil lawsuit Thursday accusing the officer of excessive force.

The Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times last month told investigators he thought Blake was trying to abduct one of his own children and that he opened fire because Blake started turning toward the officer while holding a knife, the officer's lawyer contends.