Former Tennis Star James Blake Slammed to the Ground, Handcuffed By NYPD

Adam Johnson
,
 AlterNet
and
 Adam Johnson
September 09, 2015

The Daily News is reporting that earllier today former tennis Star James Blake, who is African-American, was slammed to the ground and detained by five plainclothes NYPD officers outside his hotel in midtown.

"It was definitely scary and definitely crazy," Blake told The Daily News. He was hesitant to say for sure if it was racial profiling, insisting it was more an issue of police abuse.

"To me it's as simple as unnecessary police force, no matter what my race is. 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," he said.

The NYPD allegedly mistook Blake for a man wanted in an identity theft ring. According to the Daily News, two of the officers who tackled him apologized but one, the first to do so, refused. Blake, for his part, just wants an apology so they would "know it's not okay and go out there and do it tomorrow."

James Blake is a New York native from Yonkers and is actively involved in local charities, including raising money for cancer research. 

Blake was detained for abut 15 minutes. Once the officers realized their "mistake" they let him go and he eventually made it to the US Open in Flushing Meadows, Queens where he was to attend a corporate event. 

h/t Daily News

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