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September 14, 2015

Video of James Blake Arrest Released; Officer Had Past Complaints 
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In New York, police have released security camera footage showing an
undercover officer slamming retired tennis star James Blake to the
ground. The footage shows Blake, who is biracial, standing outside his
Manhattan hotel when Officer James Frascatore approaches him, wraps an
arm around his neck, tackles him down, digs his knee into his back and
handcuffs him. Police say they mistakenly identified Blake as a suspect
in a credit card fraud probe. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Police Chief William Bratton have personally apologized to Blake.
Officer Frascatore has a pattern of excessive force complaints against
him. He has been accused of punching and pummeling a man in his own
driveway; punching a man in the face after stopping him for a broken
tail light; punching a man outside a bodega and calling him a racial
epithet; and manhandling a woman who told The New York Times, "He was
really rough ... It was akin to a kidnapping." James Blake has called
for Officer Frascatore to be fired.

 

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