James Blake, who says he was wrongfully detained and wrestled to the ground by police in New York on Wednesday, wants an apology from the NYPD as the commissioner said he had tried to reach out to the former world No4 tennis player.
Blake said the incident had been a case of excessive force by the police. “I probably even wouldn’t be so indignant about it, it if it wasn’t so obvious. It was so blatant,” Blake told Good Morning America on Thursday. “I was standing there doing nothing, not running, not resisting, in fact, smiling.”
The police had been investigating a case of identity theft and had mistook Blake for a suspect. Although Blake was released after being handcuffed, the former player says the officer who had wrestled him to the ground did not apologize. “I’d like an apology,” Blake said. “We all need to be accountable for our actions, police as well.” Blake said he was left with cuts and bruises after the incident.
The NYPD commissioner, Bill Bratton, said he had tried to reach Blake on his cell phone to apologize but had not been able to speak to him.
“I’m very interested in speaking to Mr Blake and hope to hear back from him to extend an apology for the experience he encountered,” Bratton said. “It should not have happened.”
Bratton added that the New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, also wanted to say sorry to Blake.
Blake, whose mother is white and whose father was black, said he did not believe he was a victim of racial profiling however. “No,” he said, when asked if he thought that was the case.
Blake said he did not want to discuss the incident initially but was persuaded to do so by his wife.
“She said, you know, what if this happened to me? And immediately I was furious because I thought about what I would be thinking if someone did that to my wife,” Blake said.
“[If] someone tackled her in broad daylight, paraded her around in a busy crowded sidewalk in New York City with handcuffs, with her cuffed behind her back and taking away her dignity, and I just I couldn’t accept that and I know that a lot of people have no voice to have any recourse, and I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to be sitting here with you to be able to tell this story and let people know this happens too often.”
Bratton, has described the incident as “very disturbing” but denied on Thursday that race had played a part in the arrest. “Sorry, race has nothing at all to do with this. If you look at the photograph of the suspect it looks like the twin brother of Mr Blake,” Bratton told CNN. “So let’s put that nonsense to rest right now, race has nothing to do with this. We have a witness who identified Mr Blake as an individual who he had sold a phone to and had been given a false credit card.”
Bratton has ordered an internal affairs investigation into the incident, and one officer involved has been placed on desk duties. “I have concerns about the takedown,” the commissioner said.
Blake is a former US No1 and world No4 player. He reached the US Open quarter-finals twice, and was in New York to attend the tournament this week.
