Cop who wrongfully slammed tennis pro James Blake to the ground now suing James Blake
The NYPD officer who wrongfully slammed James Blake to the ground is now suing Blake as well as the NYPD.
James Frascatore told the New York Post that he planned to sue Blake, the city of New York, the NYPD, the director of the department’s civilian complaint review board and HarperCollins, the publishing house behind Blake’s book.
Frascatore was specifically taking aim at Blake and his book, Ways of Grace, because the book, which was released in June, purportedly portrayed Frascatore as a “racist goon.” He is now claiming emotional distress and slander.
— New York Police Department releases video footage of officer slamming James Blake to ground —
The incident, which was portrayed in Ways of Grace, took place outside a Manhattan hotel in 2015. Frascatore was looking for a suspect in a credit card scamming scheme and saw Blake, who was waiting on a ride to the US Open. Frascatore believed that Blake was the suspect and so rushed Blake and tackled him to the ground before putting him in handcuffs.
However, Frascatore claimed that he had done everything he was supposed to do.
“I have a family to go home to. I’m on a crowded sidewalk, with a possibly armed suspect in the middle of 42nd Street,” he told the Post. “You have to take control of the situation. I can’t just be pulling out my gun.”
This week, an internal review for Frascatore was also completed, though the results have not been publicly made available.
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