Former tennis star James Blake talks about mistaken NYPD arrest
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- I spoke with James Blake after his testimony during a NYPD disciplinary hearing about the 2015 incident in which he was mistakenly arrested by the NYPD.
He says he wants the police officer who tackled him two years ago to be fired.
Blake says he could sue but he does not want the money -- money is not what he's after. He also says that bad police officers do a real disservice to the very good police officers who are out there. Bad police officers, he says, put good police officers in very real danger. (Watch the full interview above)
James Blake was once the number four tennis player in the world, but today he was a witness giving testimony in a disciplinary hearing regarding an incident that happened two years ago. The incident dates back to the time of the U.S. Open in 2015 when Blake was standing in front of the Hyatt on 42nd Street.
Blake was tackled by a NYPD officer who was in plainclothes and did not identify himself. Blake ended up on the ground with his face on the concrete, handcuffed and interrogated by the NYPD. It was not until sometime later, 10 minutes or so, when a supervisor came and everyone understood that the wrong person had been taken down with what Blake calls excessive force.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board just a few weeks after the incident said that this is a matter that needed to be looked into further.
