A police officer in New York has been fired amid an ongoing investigation related to the shooting of an unarmed man. As reported by The New York Times, video surveillance shows Sergeant Ritchard Blake patting down the body of Thavone Santana, who was sprawled out after being shot. Blake is then seen placing a knife next to Santana's body. He paced for a while before picking the weapon back up. Details of the circumstances that led up to the shooting are unclear. Their relationship with a woman appears to be the motive of the shootings.
Reports state that Blake was leaving his girlfriend's house when Santana approached him. The video shows Santana walking towards Blake with one hand in the pocket of his shorts. Blake stands with his arms open, apparently trying to de-escalate the situation. The NYPD claims that Santana said he was going to rob Blake, but other sources in the police force say that Blake admitted that robbery was never in the discussion. Blake shot Santana twice, and called himself in to report an off-duty shooting.
Blake was already on a form of probation after being charged with assaulting a woman in 2016. He was suspended for just over a month, and was placed on a probationary agreement that any further trouble would cause him to lose his job with no questions asked. It appears him shooting Santana classifies as a violation of probation.
