James Blake was allegedly tackled and handcuffed by police in a case of mistaken identity, and now the NYPD cop accused of using excessive force against the retired tennis pro is in hot water.
Blake claimed that he was pushed to the ground on Wednesday outside his Midtown Manhattan hotel and handcuffed by several officers who mistook him for the suspect in a possible credit card fraud. The officer responsible has now been disciplined and placed on desk duty , the New York Times reported on Thursday.
Many believed the incident had racial undertones. But police noted that Blake, who is biracial, looked exactly like the suspect in the fraud case.
“Let’s put that nonsense to rest right now,” said NYPD commissioner William J. Bratton said. “Race has nothing to do with this.”
Blake said race may have played a role, but noted that he was more upset about how police treated him.
“To me, it’s as simple as unnecessary police force, no matter what my race is,” Mr. Blake told the New York Daily News . “In my mind there’s probably a race factor involved. But no matter what, there’s no reason for anybody to do that, to anybody.”
The New York Daily News reported that Blake suffered suffered cuts and bruises after being forced to the ground. Blake was in New York City for the U.S. Open, which is being held in nearby Flushing Meadows.
James Blake also said the officer who first approached him was not in uniform and did not have a badge that was visible.
“You’d think they could say, ‘Hey, we want to talk to you. We are looking into something. I was just standing there. I wasn’t running. It’s not even close (to be OK). It’s blatantly unnecessary. You would think at some point they would get the memo that this isn’t OK, but it seems that there’s no stopping it.”
Police said they had a private service deliver phones to a suspect at the hotel as part of their investigation. The delivery person identified to other people in the lobby to whom he had delivered phones, and police detained both in the hotel lobby.
One of those arrested was James Blake, though police released him when a retired officer recognized the retired tennis pro. The tennis pro said he was in handcuffs for about a minute before the situation was cleared up.
[Picture by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images]
