NYPD Used Excessive Force Against Tennis Star James Blake, City Panel Says

NYPD Officer James Frascatore used excessive force when he tackled and wrongly arrested ex-tennis pro James Blake outside his Manhattan hotel on Sept. 9, the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) has found.

The CCRB is an independent, city-instated agency that investigates complaints against NYPD officers in which “the use of excessive or unnecessary force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, or the use of offensive language” is alleged.

The board sent a letter containing its findings to Blake’s lawyer on Tuesday.

In the letter, the CCRB charged Frascatore, of Oceanside, Long Island, with using excessive force and “recommended the stiffest punishment: departmental charges that could lead to suspension or dismissal,” the New York Times reports.

Frascatore will now face an internal NYPD trial.

Here is Blake’s statement on the board’s findings, sent to Patch.

‘’I want to express my appreciation to the Civilian Complaint Review Board for their quick and thorough review of the incident during which I was attacked on September 9, 2015. I learned today that the CCRB has substantiated the Complaint, filed on my behalf by my attorney Kevin Marino, against James Frascatore (for excessive force), and Daniel Herzog (for abuse of authority). It is my understanding that these officers now face an administrative trial for their roles in the respective offenses. I have complete respect for the principle of due process and appreciate the efforts of the CCRB to advance this investigation.’’

And here is some outrage from the police union, via the Times.

Stephen C. Worth, a union lawyer representing Officer Frascatore, said the “so-called substantiation is in no way a finding of any wrongdoing by any competent authority.” Mr. Worth added that he was confident that Officer Frascatore would eventually be exonerated. “This is a simple case of a good-faith misidentification which has been wildly blown out of proportion,” he said.

A surveillance video released by the New York Police Department (NYPD) shows Blake, 35, standing at the entrance of the Grand Hyatt New York in Midtown Manhattan, fiddling with his cellphone, when an officer comes out of nowhere and throws him to the ground.

Blake, who was in town for the U.S. Open, had given a similar account of the aggressive police takedown on Sept. 9 in an interview with the New York Daily News.

After Blake came forward, NYPD officials said the tennis star had been mistaken for a man wanted in connection with an identity-theft ring.

An Instagram photo leaked to TMZ of the intended target — Sean Satha, a sunglasses designer in Australia — did appear to resemble Blake. However, the NYPD later admitted that even Satha turned out to be innocent.

The department announced pretty immediately that Frascatore would be placed on “modified assignment” while Internal Affairs investigated the incident.

Blake described the incident in a statement issued a few days after the fact.

“Just before noon on Wednesday, while I was standing on a sidewalk outside my hotel in midtown Manhattan waiting for a car to take me to the U.S. Open, a plainclothes New York City Police officer tackled me to the ground, handcuffed me, paraded me down a crowded sidewalk, and detained me for ten minutes before he and his four colleagues realized they had the wrong man. The officer, who was apparently investigating a case of credit card fraud, did not identify himself as a member of law enforcement, ask my name, read me my rights, or in any way afford me the dignity and respect due every person who walks the streets of this country. And while I continue to believe the vast majority of our police officers are dedicated public servants who conducted themselves appropriately, I know that what happened to me is not uncommon.

When this incident was reported in the news media, Mayor De Blasio and Commissioner Bratton both called me to extend their personal apologies, and I greatly appreciate those gestures. But extending courtesy to a public figure mistreated by the police is not enough. As I told the commissioner, I am determined to use my voice to turn this unfortunate incident into a catalyst for change in the relationship between the police and the public they serve. For that reason, I am calling upon the City of New York to make a significant financial commitment to improving that relationship, particularly in those neighbourhoods where incidents of the type I experienced occur all too frequently. The Commissioner has agreed to meet with my representatives and me to discuss our ideas in that regard, and we very much look forward to that meeting.”

In the Daily News interview, Blake said he had been waiting for a car to take him to Flushing Meadows, Queens, where he planned to make corporate appearances for Time-Warner Cable. He was texting on his phone, he said, when he looked up and saw someone in shorts and a T-Shirt charging at him.

“Maybe I’m naïve, but I just assumed it was someone I went to high school with or something who was running at me to give me a big hug, so I smiled at the guy,” Blake said.

He said the officer picked him up, threw him onto the sidewalk, yelled at him to roll over and said, “Don’t say a word.”

Four more officers eventually joined the first, Blake said. They had him handcuffed for about 15 minutes, he said, before the officers realized their mistake and apologized. However, according to Blake, the officer who tackled him never said sorry or otherwise admitted wrongdoing.

NYPD brass announced just last week that the department had drafted new use-of-force guidelines for its officers to work by — and admitted that up until now, officers have been trained based on a weak and unclear aggression policy.