Fact check: Police gave Kyle Rittenhouse water and thanked him before shooting

Eric Litke USA TODAY Aug. 29, 2020

Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois (above left) who considers himself a militia member, has been charged as an adult with one count each of intentional homicide and reckless homicide for the Aug. 25 shooting. He’s also charged with attempted intentional homicide for the shooting of a third man.

A livestream posted by The Rundown Live, an independent radio program based in Milwaukee, shows Rittenhouse interacting with police while standing in front of a store in Kenosha shortly before the shooting.

About 90 minutes into the livestream at 11:30 p.m. — 15 minutes before the fatal shooting — the following exchange with police occurs as Rittenhouse and another armed man walk outside a business.

Police officer (over a loudspeaker): “You need water? Seriously. (unintelligible) You need water?”

Rittenhouse, raising his arm and walking toward the police vehicle: “We need water.”

Police officer: “We’ll throw you one.”

Rittenhouse then walks out into the street amid several police vehicles, holding his hand in the air for a water bottle. An officer surfaces from a hatch at the top of the police vehicle and tosses a water bottle to a person located just out of the camera’s view, where Rittenhouse would likely be standing based on the preceding footage.

Police officer: “We got a couple. We’ve got to save a couple, but we’ll give you a couple. We appreciate you guys, we really do.”

Read the entire article HERE and see the sources used.