Cop tackles James Blake

Officer James Frascatore was the subject of five civilian complaints in a seven-month period of 2013, according to radio’s WNYC, and he has been named in two federal civil rights lawsuits as being among a group of officers accused of beating, pepper spraying and falsely arresting two Queens men in separate incidents that year.

“I spoke to Mr. Blake a short time ago and personally apologized for yesterday’s incident”, Bratton said Thursday, adding that Blake “said he would like to meet with the mayor and me at a future date, which we would be agreeable to”. A retailer had given police a photo of a man who was involved, police said. He said, “I don’t believe that race was a factor”. He was not the guy they were looking for though. James accepted Bratton’s apology, but said he will not be satisfied until the officers are held appropriately accountable and there is a commitment from the city to make a meaningful financial investment into supporting communities that are affected by these types of incidents.

Blake was mistaken for an identity-theft suspect that Police Commissioner William Bratton said looked like Blake’s “twin”.

Bratton said he had concerns about “the inappropriateness of the amount of force that was used” after an initial review of video evidence of the arrest.

Blake said the officer never identified himself as a cop and wasn’t wearing a visible police shield. “In my mind there’s probably a race factor involved, but no matter what there’s no reason for anybody to do that to anybody”.

Earlier Thursday, Bratton had said he attempted to contact Blake in order to apologize but that Blake hadn’t responded to messages. Mayor Bill De Blasio also said in an interview with New York One “This shouldn’t have happened, and he shouldn’t have been treated this way”. “It’s blatantly unnecessary”. The incident was first reported by the New York Daily News.

The real suspects in the credit card fraud have been taken into custody.

The company got the photo off Instagram based on the name of a person they’d done business with, Boyce said. The white officers wore no badges, nor did they show any.

“The USTA is deeply concerned about this troubling incident”. “We will continue to offer our support to James in any way we can as this investigation unfolds”.