Social Media Responds to Tennis Star’s Incident with NYPD
The social media community reacted last week after a video surfaced of former tennis star, James Blake, being tackled and detained by plain clothes New York City Police (NYPD) officers as he was standing in front of a New York City hotel.
According to reports, Blake’s incident was a case of mistaken identity when officers mistook him for someone involved with an online credit card ring.
Blake, who is biracial, told his version of events to NBC News last week:
"It's really infuriating to know that I was in such a vulnerable position, and I was taken advantage of by someone that wears the NYPD badge, and in my opinion tarnishes that badge. My initial reaction being naïve, I guess, is this is probably a fan or someone just having fun and giving me a big hug, someone I don't recognize from high school. About three seconds later, I realized it wasn't someone giving me a friendly hug, that's for sure."
Social media users took to Twitter to voice their disapproval.
Sarah Waller said, “They apologized because he is a Harvard grad & pro tennis player. This happens to people who aren't famous every day. #notokay #JamesBlake” while Michael Morris called on presidential candidates to get involved , “It's a screwed up world when candidates scream for justice as #kimdavis goes to jail but silent as #jamesblake is tackled by police.”
Activist DeRay McKesson called on Blake to stay involved in speaking out against police tactics by using his celebrity platform tweeting, “Perhaps James Blake can join with Jesse Williams and Solange to hold down the celebrity wing of the movement.
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton told reporters at press conference last week that the incident "should not have happened" but insisted Blake wasn't detained because of race.
"I don't believe that race was a factor," Bratton said. "This rush to put a race tag on it, I'm sorry, that's not involved in this at all," Bratton said.
New York City Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President, Patrick Lynch, released a statement after the NYPD released the video of Blake being detained:
“The police officer was apprehending what he had every reason to believe was an individual who had just committed a crime. The apprehension was made under fluid circumstances where the subject might have fled and the officer did a professional job of bringing the individual to the ground to prevent that occurrence. It is truly unfortunate that the arrest was a result of mistaken identity by the complainant in the case and we regret any embarrassment or injury suffered by Mr. Blake as a result.”
The officer who tackled Blake, James Frascatore, has a history of being named in lawsuits alleging police misconduct. In 2014, Frascatore was named in an amended complaint filed in federal court in Brooklyn, NY, alleging he and seven other officers and sergeants beat and unlawfully arrested a man in a New York deli in May 2013.
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