Officials Protest As Attempted South Jersey Cop Killer Seeks Clemency

EGG HARBOR TWP., NJ — As a convicted attempted cop killer seeks clemency, Atlantic County officials are urging authorities to keep the man in jail.

Christopher Blank was sentenced to 85 years in prison for attempted murder following a jury trial in 2008. According to court documents, in 2006, Blank's then-girlfriend was driving and cut in front of an Egg Harbor Township police car. The couple was pulled over, and Blank was found to have an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

A struggle ensued when the officer tried to handcuff Blank. After Blank was pepper-sprayed, he disarmed one of the officers and shot her three times with her gun. He then shot another officer, who was protected by his bulletproof vest, and shot at the head of a third officer, who was not hit.

Since Blank's conviction, he has appealed multiple times, each one being unsuccessful. A website and petition, Save Chris Blank, says it tells "the truth behind this tragedy." In his own words, Blank says he did what he did in self-defense and that he is a victim of police brutality.

In a letter on the website, Blank wrote that after the pepper-spraying, he was handcuffed to a fence. He said he was being held in a chokehold and beaten when he managed to grab the gun and "blindly fired at my assailants" before shooting the handcuff to free him from the fence.

Blank ran away after firing the gun; a manhunt then ensued. Once he was caught, Blank said that he was surrounded by officers and dogs and was "viciously" beaten by both.

"Look, I openly admit that I wasn’t always the man that I am today (thank you God)," Blank wrote. "However, I can guarantee that any single person who reviews my case—without bias—will not only find my 85 year sentence horrifically unjust, but will also demand that my conviction be overturned. Guaranteed."

Atlantic County authorities want Blank to stay in prison.

"His actions in disarming an Egg Harbor Township Police Officer and then using that weapon to shoot her three times, subsequently shooting a second Officer, who was saved by his ballistic vest, and then shooting at the head of a third Officer, who fortunately was not struck, speaks to the horrific nature of this defendant’s actions and his utter disregard of the lives of our law enforcement officers," Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds said.

One of the officers who was shot shared a post on Facebook asking for people to write letters to the governor.

"I have recently learned that the man who shot me, another officer and at other officers has submitted and application for clemency to the governor," Clear Costantino wrote. "I was given 30 days to provide any comments or information I believe should be considered in the petition presented to the Governor at the time a decision is rendered."

Reynolds also called for the bid to be rejected.

"The defendant was properly convicted by an Atlantic County jury beyond a reasonable doubt and sentenced appropriately in accord with his crimes and in light of his lengthy prior criminal history," he said. The defendant’s case has been reviewed extensively through the appellate court process all of which have found no merit in his claims, affirming both his conviction and sentence."