SHOOT-COP DODGES BULLET
He blasted man in face, but is hit with minor charge
A former cop accused of shooting another man in the face while off duty in Brooklyn escaped an attempted murder count Friday when a grand jury charged him only with planting a knife on his victim, officials said.
Sgt. Ritchard Blake was released without bail after pleading not guilty to two counts of tampering with physical evidence in the Aug. 2 shooting of Thavone Santana, who was hit in the mouth.
The shooting was caught on surveillance video. The video also caught Blake, 41, putting a knife next to Santana’s body.
A few minutes later, he returned to the scene and removed the weapon, the video shows.
The grand jury did not file attempted murder or assault charges against Blake after determining the former cop was justified in shooting Santana, according to a
source with knowledge of the case.
During the brief standoff, the grand jury decided, the younger man had his hands in his pockets — as if he had a weapon — and acted in a menacing manner, the source said.
Cops later found a razor blade at the scene near Santana’s body — but nothing in his pockets.
After shooting Santana, Blake dialed 911. During his call, he can be heard speaking to Santana, crying “Why did you do that?” the source said.
Santana, 22, knows Blake’s girlfriend Debbie, the mother of his children. He and Blake’s girlfriend hang out in the same circles and would often go drinking together, police sources said, leading to speculation that Blake viewed him as a romantic rival.
“They know each other, but have discord,” a police source said at the time.
A lawsuit filed against Blake by Santana’s family claimed the entire clash was over a cell phone charger Blake’s girlfriend borrowed from the victim earlier in the day. When he went to rerieve the harger, lake anwered the oor and ursed him ut. A short ime later, antana was utside his uilding when Blake approached the younger man and told him to stay away from his girlfriend, according to the suit. The surveillance video of the 5 a.m. shooting shows Blake walking down the street dressed in a pink shirt. Santana has his left hand in his pocket and a cast on his right hand when the two men meet up. As they argue, Blake backs up while Santana steps toward him. The officer then pulls a gun and fires twice from a distance of about 4 feet.
The video shows Blake using his phone for a couple seconds. He then takes an object from his back pocket and lets it fall out of its wrapping to the ground. He puts the wrapping back in his pocket and starts to turn away.
A moment later, as Santana jerks his head up, Blake turns back, picks up the object and puts it back in his rear pocket before dialing 911 on his phone.
Prosecutors said Blake had taken the knife from his girlfriend during an incident a few hours earlier.
Prosecutors said an officer’s body cameras recorded a statement from Blake saying, “I dropped the knife,” he said. “I’m f—ed.”
Santana’s attorney said Blake should have been indicted for attempted murder.