In a case of extreme mistaken identity, former tennis star James Blake was tackled and handcuffed by New York City police officers Wednesday outside of his hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Blake, who was on his way to the US Open to fulfill corporate responsibilities, told the New York Daily News that five white, plain-clothes officers mistook him for someone they believed to be involved in an identity theft ring.
He suffered a cut to his elbow and a bruise to his leg and said he was most upset with the force used by the officers in apprehending him.
"You'd think they could say, 'Hey, we want to talk to you. We are looking in to something.' I was just standing there. I wasn't running," Blake told the newspaper. "It's not even close [to being OK]. It's blatantly unnecessary. You would think at some point they would get the memo that this isn't OK, but it seems that there's no stopping it."
I know these things are often debated here, but it drew my interest primarily because I liked James a lot as a player, and rooted for him in many matches. Wish the NYPD and police in general in the States begin to handle things better.
In a case of extreme mistaken identity, former tennis star James Blake was tackled and handcuffed by New York City police officers Wednesday outside of his hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Blake, who was on his way to the US Open to fulfill corporate responsibilities, told the New York Daily News that five white, plain-clothes officers mistook him for someone they believed to be involved in an identity theft ring.
He suffered a cut to his elbow and a bruise to his leg and said he was most upset with the force used by the officers in apprehending him.
"You'd think they could say, 'Hey, we want to talk to you. We are looking in to something.' I was just standing there. I wasn't running," Blake told the newspaper. "It's not even close [to being OK]. It's blatantly unnecessary. You would think at some point they would get the memo that this isn't OK, but it seems that there's no stopping it."
I know these things are often debated here, but it drew my interest primarily because I liked James a lot as a player, and rooted for him in many matches. Wish the NYPD and police in general in the States begin to handle things better.
Not going to happen unfortunately. The NYPD's whole MO is to crack heads first, ask questions later and then make excuses.
Joined: 07 May 2014 Posts: 13823 Location: Boulder ;)
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 6:39 am Post subject:
And the worst thing about our lack of true connectedness our lack of introspection and our acceptance of cultural conditioning is revealed right here in his quote
Quote:
"I have resources to get to the bottom of this. I have a voice," Blake said. "But what about someone who doesn't have those resources and doesn't have a voice?
We don't give two (bleep) until it affects us directly. I am not saying anything bad about him..this is the way human conditioning and our culture are..it is how the psychopathic 1%ers do their dirty deeds.. "It's not my problem" "It didn't affect me" etc etc
I'm glad this happened to a man with money and influence so now something may change
In a case of extreme mistaken identity, former tennis star James Blake was tackled and handcuffed by New York City police officers Wednesday outside of his hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Blake, who was on his way to the US Open to fulfill corporate responsibilities, told the New York Daily News that five white, plain-clothes officers mistook him for someone they believed to be involved in an identity theft ring.
He suffered a cut to his elbow and a bruise to his leg and said he was most upset with the force used by the officers in apprehending him.
"You'd think they could say, 'Hey, we want to talk to you. We are looking in to something.' I was just standing there. I wasn't running," Blake told the newspaper. "It's not even close [to being OK]. It's blatantly unnecessary. You would think at some point they would get the memo that this isn't OK, but it seems that there's no stopping it."
I know these things are often debated here, but it drew my interest primarily because I liked James a lot as a player, and rooted for him in many matches. Wish the NYPD and police in general in the States begin to handle things better.
Not going to happen unfortunately. The NYPD's whole MO is to crack heads first, ask questions later and then make excuses.
Sad but true, but it's not just limited to the NYPD. In fact, there is only one single state in the entire country that actually has a law on the books that makes it legal to harm a public servant if they are unidentified when committing an illegal act against you - like aggressively tackling you before they identify themselves. Most of the time, they are protected after the fact just because they're cops. Only Indiana gives a citizen the right to effectively defend himself from the actions of a wayward public servant, as was the case in this incident. _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
In a case of extreme mistaken identity, former tennis star James Blake was tackled and handcuffed by New York City police officers Wednesday outside of his hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Blake, who was on his way to the US Open to fulfill corporate responsibilities, told the New York Daily News that five white, plain-clothes officers mistook him for someone they believed to be involved in an identity theft ring.
He suffered a cut to his elbow and a bruise to his leg and said he was most upset with the force used by the officers in apprehending him.
"You'd think they could say, 'Hey, we want to talk to you. We are looking in to something.' I was just standing there. I wasn't running," Blake told the newspaper. "It's not even close [to being OK]. It's blatantly unnecessary. You would think at some point they would get the memo that this isn't OK, but it seems that there's no stopping it."
I know these things are often debated here, but it drew my interest primarily because I liked James a lot as a player, and rooted for him in many matches. Wish the NYPD and police in general in the States begin to handle things better.
Not going to happen unfortunately. The NYPD's whole MO is to crack heads first, ask questions later and then make excuses.
Sad but true, but it's not just limited to the NYPD. In fact, there is only one single state in the entire country that actually has a law on the books that makes it legal to harm a public servant if they are unidentified when committing an illegal act against you - like aggressively tackling you before they identify themselves. Most of the time, they are protected after the fact just because they're cops. Only Indiana gives a citizen the right to effectively defend himself from the actions of a wayward public servant, as was the case in this incident.
True but corruption in the NYPD in particular is embedded in the very fabric of it's being (i.e. Serpico/Knapp commission).
These cocks truly think they're special. Here they are blaming the mayor for drumming up the anti-police sentiment as opposed to you know, time and again exhibiting the blue line, police brutality and all around misconduct.
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90306 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 2:17 pm Post subject:
There is a great video (link at bottom), where some activists had both a white and a black man openly carry the same firearm (legally) in the same place to gauge the response from police. That one video alone illustrates the difference in how police view and interact with black men vs white men...
In a case of extreme mistaken identity, former tennis star James Blake was tackled and handcuffed by New York City police officers Wednesday outside of his hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Blake, who was on his way to the US Open to fulfill corporate responsibilities, told the New York Daily News that five white, plain-clothes officers mistook him for someone they believed to be involved in an identity theft ring.
He suffered a cut to his elbow and a bruise to his leg and said he was most upset with the force used by the officers in apprehending him.
"You'd think they could say, 'Hey, we want to talk to you. We are looking in to something.' I was just standing there. I wasn't running," Blake told the newspaper. "It's not even close [to being OK]. It's blatantly unnecessary. You would think at some point they would get the memo that this isn't OK, but it seems that there's no stopping it."
I know these things are often debated here, but it drew my interest primarily because I liked James a lot as a player, and rooted for him in many matches. Wish the NYPD and police in general in the States begin to handle things better.
Not going to happen unfortunately. The NYPD's whole MO is to crack heads first, ask questions later and then make excuses.
Sad but true, but it's not just limited to the NYPD. In fact, there is only one single state in the entire country that actually has a law on the books that makes it legal to harm a public servant if they are unidentified when committing an illegal act against you - like aggressively tackling you before they identify themselves. Most of the time, they are protected after the fact just because they're cops. Only Indiana gives a citizen the right to effectively defend himself from the actions of a wayward public servant, as was the case in this incident.
Two things. One, he's retired but what if he was in the open as a player and this happened You bet this would have already caught more traction and outrage in the media.
Two, what if he was some martial arts badass and effectively took all the guys. With no announcement that they were cops until after the cops recovered and got their wits back, would he be liable for kicking their ass?
Would love to see this go to court. Law enforcement reform is badly needed among other things.
Bye. _________________ "This trophy removes the most odious sentence in the English Language. It can never be said again that 'the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics.'" -Dr. Jerry Buss (1985) R.I.P., 33 x M.V.O.
In a case of extreme mistaken identity, former tennis star James Blake was tackled and handcuffed by New York City police officers Wednesday outside of his hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Blake, who was on his way to the US Open to fulfill corporate responsibilities, told the New York Daily News that five white, plain-clothes officers mistook him for someone they believed to be involved in an identity theft ring.
He suffered a cut to his elbow and a bruise to his leg and said he was most upset with the force used by the officers in apprehending him.
"You'd think they could say, 'Hey, we want to talk to you. We are looking in to something.' I was just standing there. I wasn't running," Blake told the newspaper. "It's not even close [to being OK]. It's blatantly unnecessary. You would think at some point they would get the memo that this isn't OK, but it seems that there's no stopping it."
I know these things are often debated here, but it drew my interest primarily because I liked James a lot as a player, and rooted for him in many matches. Wish the NYPD and police in general in the States begin to handle things better.
Not going to happen unfortunately. The NYPD's whole MO is to crack heads first, ask questions later and then make excuses.
Sad but true, but it's not just limited to the NYPD. In fact, there is only one single state in the entire country that actually has a law on the books that makes it legal to harm a public servant if they are unidentified when committing an illegal act against you - like aggressively tackling you before they identify themselves. Most of the time, they are protected after the fact just because they're cops. Only Indiana gives a citizen the right to effectively defend himself from the actions of a wayward public servant, as was the case in this incident.
Two things. One, he's retired but what if he was in the open as a player and this happened You bet this would have already caught more traction and outrage in the media.
Two, what if he was some martial arts badass and effectively took all all the guys. With no announcement that they were cops until after the cops recovered and got their wits back, would he be liable for kicking their ass?
Would love to see this go to court. Law enforcement reform is badly needed among other things.
Bye.
Yep, this is what I was speaking to. I think it is totally reasonable for a person to try to protect themselves from being attacked by a complete stranger (I would). But sadly the only state that allows this protection via statute in a case where the assailant turns out to be a cop is the state of Indiana. In every other state it would be a crapshoot, where either you're hopefully exonerated of any culpability, or you are actually charged with assault on a peace officer, even though you had no clue it was a peace officer that was attempting to bring you bodily harm. _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
There is a great video (link at bottom), where some activists had both a white and a black man openly carry the same firearm (legally) in the same place to gauge the response from police. That one video alone illustrates the difference in how police view and interact with black men vs white men...
That took a lot of courage by the black dude. No way I'd put my life in the hands of 5-0's judgement. This is in a state like Oregon too which is by and large progressive. There's a lot more places where he'd be dead imo.
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90306 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 3:27 pm Post subject:
jonnybravo wrote:
24 wrote:
There is a great video (link at bottom), where some activists had both a white and a black man openly carry the same firearm (legally) in the same place to gauge the response from police. That one video alone illustrates the difference in how police view and interact with black men vs white men...
That took a lot of courage by the black dude. No way I'd put my life in the hands of 5-0's judgement. This is in a state like Oregon too which is by and large progressive. There's a lot more places where he'd be dead imo.
Oregon is like a lot of progressive states in that there is a progressive urban core (which has the bulk of the population, thus the state wide reputation) and a pretty conservative outlying portion (Washington, California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, to name several examples, are very similar).
And cops tend to be conservative even in progressive areas.
Video of Blake Takedown _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
There is a great video (link at bottom), where some activists had both a white and a black man openly carry the same firearm (legally) in the same place to gauge the response from police. That one video alone illustrates the difference in how police view and interact with black men vs white men...
That took a lot of courage by the black dude. No way I'd put my life in the hands of 5-0's judgement. This is in a state like Oregon too which is by and large progressive. There's a lot more places where he'd be dead imo.
Oregon is like a lot of progressive states in that there is a progressive urban core (which has the bulk of the population, thus the state wide reputation) and a pretty conservative outlying portion (Washington, California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, to name several examples, are very similar).
And cops tend to be conservative even in progressive areas.
I wouldn't call the inbred hillbillies that you are referring to conservative. I live in southern Oregon and this area was a stronghold for the Klan back in the day. There is a fringe of knuckle-dragging f-wits that live mostly off the grid. These morons are not Republican. In fact they are not political. I chatted with one (couldn't avoid it) and he was an imbecile. A real and true idiot, who seemed to hate everyone (especially the Jews) and when he last voted, it was for Jimmy Carter. By the way, he gave me a very important tip about avoiding the television because that's how they watch you. He actually told me that. Longest wait I have ever experienced at a doctor's office.
Ridiculous. Talk about excessive force. Even if the officer had the right guy that sure as hell wasn't warranted.
Check out the guy at about the 13 second mark walking out the hotel. He see's Blake on the ground, and immediately goes back inside the hotel. Bet THAT was the actual perp... _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
Ridiculous. Talk about excessive force. Even if the officer had the right guy that sure as hell wasn't warranted.
Check out the guy at about the 13 second mark walking out the hotel. He see's Blake on the ground, and immediately goes back inside the hotel. Bet THAT was the actual perp...
Really? That's the guy whose supposed to be Blake's dead ringer?
What kind of arrest was that? Blake was just standing there and he just runs right up and tackles him. I wonder if he even identified himself as police and where's his backup? _________________ "Suck it up. Don't be a baby. Do your job." - Kobe Bryant
Ridiculous. Talk about excessive force. Even if the officer had the right guy that sure as hell wasn't warranted.
Check out the guy at about the 13 second mark walking out the hotel. He see's Blake on the ground, and immediately goes back inside the hotel. Bet THAT was the actual perp...
Really? That's the guy whose supposed to be Blake's dead ringer?
What kind of arrest was that? Blake was just standing there and he just runs right up and tackles him. I wonder if he even identified himself as police and where's his backup?
In fairness to the overzealous cop, the story is that a witness was standing next to him and fingered Blake as the perp. The actual perp was indeed inside the hotel,and had just fraudulently used a credit card. That's why I said the guy exiting and quickly reentering was likely the perp.
Blake said he never identified himself as a cop until after he was handcuffed. Said he first thought it might be someone who recognised him from high school or something and was running up to give him a hug, then BLAM, a hand was around his neck and he was tackled. _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
Officer Who Arrested James Blake Has History of Force Complaints
Quote:
In 2012, a Queens man said, Officer James Frascatore pulled him over for a broken taillight, opened his car door and punched him three times in the mouth, unprovoked.
The following year, another Queens resident recalled, Officer Frascatore beat him in his driveway during an arrest after he started to go into his home to retrieve an identification card.
Those accounts, both made by black men, came to light after a rough arrest by the same officer on Wednesday in which he wrapped an arm around the neck of the retired tennis star James Blake and threw him to the sidewalk after mistaking him for a suspect in a credit card fraud investigation.
Officer Frascatore’s history of excessive force complaints, including at least three filed against him with the Civilian Complaint Review Board in 2013 and several lawsuits, revealed a pattern of residents claiming they were detained without explanation and manhandled despite complying. It also led some lawyers and residents to criticize the Police Department for not punishing him before he was involved in another rough arrest.
“I don’t know what that dude’s problem is but I’m glad it finally came to somebody who someone would listen to,” said Warren Diggs, who sued Officer Frascatore, claiming that the officer had beaten him in his driveway in 2013. “Finally somebody’s saying something, and somebody’s listening.”
Officer Frascatore and two other police officers followed Mr. Diggs as he rode his bike home from a bodega at night, and then stopped him in his driveway and asked for identification, Mr. Diggs said on Friday.
When he began walking into his home to get it, an officer grabbed him from behind and immobilized his arms while Officer Frascatore punched him in his right temple, Mr. Diggs said. He collapsed, injuring his shoulder on the pavement. Then, Mr. Diggs said, Officer Frascatore threw himself down on his legs and continued to pummel him.
“Frascatore starts punching me again; I’m getting hit all on my side and my back,” said Mr. Diggs, 39, a handyman. “I’m screaming for my wife to come outside then I just start screaming, ‘Help!’ ”
Another officer sprayed Mace into his face. The officer who grabbed him, still holding him from behind, hooked a forearm around his neck and began to choke him, he said.
“I’m saying: ‘I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!’ ” Mr. Diggs recalled.
Several people have complained that Officer Frascatore pulled them over for broken taillights they denied having, and then treated their questions as a pretext to hurt them.
Leroy Cline, a Queens resident, claimed that Officer Frascatore punched him in the face after the officer ignored his questions and tried to pull him out of his car, according to a memorandum his lawyer sent to the Queens district attorney’s office. Mr. Cline was charged with assaulting a police officer. Officer Frascatore later said Mr. Cline bit him.
The memo quotes from medical records, reviewed by an expert witness, showing the officer’s cut on his hand was consistent with him punching Mr. Cline in the mouth.
In the course of arguing for the case against Mr. Cline to be dropped, the lawyer, Kenneth Finkelman, of the Legal Aid Society, said he uncovered complaints against Officer Frascatore filed with the review board. One of them, concerning the arrest of Mr. Diggs and his wife, was partially substantiated, but Mr. Finkelman said that the complaint was referred to internal affairs investigators and that there was no evidence of the officer’s being punished.
Bad Cop With a Violent History _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
While it's true that Cops normally need Choke Hold points to make it to the Bonus round, that officer had already scored 4 points for the takedown, 3 points for the sustained knee to the back, and nailed the 10 point bonus for arresting the wrong perp. That's 17 points and it only takes 12 points to unlock stage two & 15 points to skip stage two and go straight to the bonus round. Conducting a choke hold would have needlessly wasted a health pack and could have left him exposed to a covenant attack. _________________ I'm On point, On task, On message, and Off drugs. A Streetwise Smart Bomb, Out of rehab and In denial. Over the Top, On the edge, Under the Radar, and In Control. Behind the 8 ball, Ahead of the Curve and I've got a Love Child who sends me Hate mail.
New York City settles with former tennis star roughed up by cop
Instead of a monetary award, the settlement creates a fellowship in Blake's name with the Civilian Complaint Review Board to help people with complaints against the police. The fellowship will augment the existing procedure for complaints.
"It has been my intention since Day One to turn a negative situation into a positive and I think this fellowship accomplishes that goal," Blake, 37, said in a joint statement with the city announcing the agreement.
"Transparency and accountability are critical to further strengthening the bonds between law enforcement officials and the communities they serve," added Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Blake, who the No. 4 ranked tennis player in the world four years ago, was waiting for a car outside a Manhattan hotel to take him to the U.S. Open on Sept. 9, 2015, when Officer James Frascatore tackled him without provocation or warning in what police said was a case of mistaken identity.
Blake was bodyslammed, handcuffed and led away in an incident recorded by a security video camera and widely circulated, sparking outrage at a time of rising tension nationwide over police relations with minorities. Blake has a black father and a white mother, while Frascatore is white.
Police said Blake had been mistakenly identified by a cooperating witness as a suspect in a fraud ring.
The newly created Blake fellowship, which will begin in January and is funded for six years, will be awarded to lawyers who would rotate out of the position every two years and receive a minimum annual salary of $65,000, a spokesman for the city's Law Department said.
Under the settlement, the city also will reimburse Blake for attorney fees and travel costs totaling nearly $175,000, the spokesman said.
In return, Blake is withdrawing a notice of claim, an advisory of a probable lawsuit, which his lawyer filed shortly after the incident, the spokesman said.
Three days after the incident, Blake told CNN that Frascatore should be fired for abusing his power. Frascatore is still with the New York Police Department.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
