iStock/Graffizone(NEW YORK) — A former New York City police officer was indicted for attempting to cover up a crime scene after shooting a man in the face, multiple sources confirmed to ABC News.
Ritchard Blake turned himself in to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office on Friday and is expected to get arraigned on two counts of tampering with physical evidence charges, sources said.
Blake, 41, allegedly got into an altercation with Thavone Santana during the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 2, 2018 and fired two shots. One of the bullets burrowed through Santana’s face and landed in his neck where it remains, according to a federal civil lawsuit he filed in January.
After the shooting, Blake allegedly told 911 he opened fired in self-defense because he was being robbed. The following day, video surveillance showed a different story, an internal investigation was launched and Blake was fired from the force.
Blake is not charged in the shooting itself but in the cover-up after police said he hovered over Santana, noticed the security cameras on a lamppost and planted a knife on the victim.
A law enforcement source told ABC News that “all the evidence was presented to the grand jury and they found that the shooting was justified.”
According to the lawsuit, Blake has a history of violence.
“Sgt. Blake has a prominent and long history of violence, assaults and was the subject of Internal Affairs investigations of his actions in 2010, 2011 and 2016 and was disciplined for his violations of NYPD Policies.”
Request for comment by ABC News from Blake’s attorney Abe George was not immediately received.
George previously told ABC News his client acted in self-defense and that Santana was the aggressor.
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