Christie seeks return of fugitive cop killer

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie disagrees with President Obama’s decision to normalize relations with Cuba and wants the president to demand the immediate return of a convicted cop killer from the country “before any further consideration of restoration of diplomatic relations with the Cuban government.”

In a letter sent Friday to the White House and made public by his office Sunday, Christie pressed for the return of Joanne Chesimard, who was convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper in 1973 during a gunbattle after being stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Chesimard was found guilty but escaped from prison and eventually fled to Cuba, where she was granted asylum by Fidel Castro. She is now living as Assata Shakur and is the first woman placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List.

Christie said Cuba’s decision to grant Chesimard asylum “is an affront to every resident of our state, our country, and in particular, the men and women of the New Jersey State Police, who have tirelessly tried to bring this killer back to justice.”

Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the White House’s National Security Council, said it will “continue to press in our engagement with the Cuban government for the return of U.S. fugitives in Cuba to pursue justice for the victims of their crimes.”