*The notion of police nabbing a person who looks like their suspect proved to have a bit of truth to it regarding an encounter involving retired tennis star James Blake.
TMZ Sports reports that although Blake resembles the man NYPD cops were looking for, the kicker is that the “suspect” in question is also a misidentified individual. As a result, neither Blake nor the man he looks like are the real culprit.
The revelation is the latest development to occur since news surfaced of Blake revealing that he was slammed to the ground near his midtown hotel Wednesday (Sept. 9), when he was on his way to the U.S. Open.
The athlete stated that he was manhandled and cuffed by five officers because they told him that he matched the description of a suspect in a credit card fraud scheme.
From a picture showing Blake and the man he resembles, TMZ notes that although there is a likeness, the man has darker skin. According to the site, an internal affairs investigation has been launched by the NYPD. Adding to this the fact that the authorities have a video of the takedown.
While Blake hasn’t played the race card or accused the NYPD officer of racism, he is upset about what he considers to be an excessive use of force.
On Thursday (Sept. 10), NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton offered to publicly apologize to Blake for what happened, saying that he and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio got the former tennis star’s voicemail when they tried calling him.
“We’re very anxious to talk to Mr. Blake. One: to extend a personal apology on my part, on part of the Police Department, the mayor, on the part of the city, and then secondly to assist us in the investigation,” Bratton said during a news conference at 1 Police Plaza.
Bratton and de Blasio may not have gotten in contact with Blake, but Robin Roberts managed to get an audience with him as he questioned the amount of violence used to subdue him Wednesday, despite not feeling that the takedown was racially-motivated, the New York Post notes.
“This was a case of excessive force, you’re not making it about racial profiling,” the “Good Morning America” co-host said.
“No,” Blake said.
“You just feel it was use of excessive force?” Roberts asked.
“Yeah,” Blake answered.
“I probably even wouldn’t be so indignant about it, if it wasn’t so obvious. It was so blatant,” Blake added.
“I was standing there doing nothing, not running, not resisting, in fact, smiling.”
During the news conference, Bratton stated that the undercover cop who tackled Blake had been placed on modified duty pending the Internal Affairs investigation of his actions. Although Bratton didn’t go beyond saying the cop is a four-year NYPD veteran who previously worked for another department, police sources identified the officer as James Frascatore.
The 38-year-old lawman, who is assigned to the grand larceny division of the detective bureau, has a past. A report last year from WNYC radio acknowledged that Frascatore had five complaints leveled against him with the Civilian Complaint Review Board in just seven months.
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