Cop who tackled tennis star James Blake previously sued four times for using excessive force

(NYPD)

pThe officer a href=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/former-tennis-star-james-blake-mistakenly-tackled-by-five-white-nypd-officers-10494090.html target=_blankwho body-slammed and wrongly detained/a retired tennis star James Blake has a troubled past with his community./p pThe emNew York Daily News/em a href=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/tackled-james-blake-sued-4-times-excessive-force-article-1.2356691 target=_blankreports/a that Officer James Frascatore is currently defending himself in four civil lawsuits claiming that he used excessive force during bogus arrests./ppemWNYC/em a href=http://www.wnyc.org/story/cops-complaints-and-one-ugly-altercation-caught-tape/ target=_blankreported/a in December 2014 that Mr Frascatore was named in five civilian complaints during one seven-month period: That’s more complaints than 90 percent of active officers have received in their entire careers./p pIn June 2012, the officer allegedly pulled over a man for a broken taillight, failed to tell the man why hed pulled him over, and punched him several times before his arrest. In January 2013, the officer allegedly arrested a man and slammed him to the ground for riding his bike on the sidewalk./p pIn May 2013, the officer and four other cops allegedly followed a man into a deli and pepper-sprayed him repeatedly while he tried to surrender./p piframe frameborder=0 height=315 src=https://www.youtube.com/embed/OuRwN4DcgIU width=460/iframe brIn June 2013, the officer allegedly jumped a man with five fellow officers during an arrest without a warrant./p pPolice Commissioner Bill Bratton immediately took the officer off the street and placed him on administrative duties on Thursday afternoon. He also issued the following a href=http://www.nypdnews.com/2015/09/statement-by-police-commissioner.html target=_blankstatement/a:/p p“I spoke to Mr Blake a short time ago and personally apologized for yesterday’s incident. Mr Blake indicated he would be willing to meet with the Internal Affairs Bureau as our investigation continues, he said./ppAdditionally, he said he would be returning the Mayor’s earlier phone call to speak to him. Mr Blake said he would like to meet with the Mayor and me at a future date, which we would be agreeable to.” img alt=GettyImages-487579014.jpg src=http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article10497124.ece/BINARY/GettyImages-487579014.jpg width=w460/ span class=caption NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton speaks on the mistaken arrest of James Blake. (Spencer Platt/Getty) /span /p pThe United States Tennis Association also released a statement regarding Blakes arrest on Thursday./p pThe USTA is deeply concerned about this troubling incident. James is the embodiment of a model citizen whose triumphs on and off the court continue to inspire tennis fans and non-fans alike./ppWe will continue to offer our support to James in any way we can as this investigation unfolds./p