Police Commisioner Bill Bratton said Thursday he and the mayor want to extend their apologies to former tennis star James Blake, who claimed he was thrown to the ground and handcuffed by several officers while leaving his Manhattan hotel Wednesday in a case of mistaken identity.
Bratton said both he and the mayor have tried to reach James using a cellphone number provided to them, but thus far have been unable to make contact.
James, a Yonkers native who was ranked No. 4 in the world at the peak of his tennis career, says he was tackled to the ground and handcuffed by undercover investigators outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel on East 42nd Street Wednesday as he waited for a car to take him to Flushing Meadows.
Police said a courier working with a team of undercover detectives investigating a fraudulent internet credit card ring wrongly identified Blake as one of the suspects with whom he had worked. Bratton said video shows officers approaching the former tennis star rapidly, grabbing him by the arm and taking him down to the ground, where he was immediately handcuffed.
Bratton said Blake did not appear to resist the arrest and, that based on the video of the confrontation he reviewed, the use of force by the officer who handcuffed Blake appeared to be inappropriate. Internal affairs is investigating the case. In the meantime, the arresting officer's badge and gun have been stripped and he has been placed on modified duty, Bratton said.
"The use of force is such that I'm comfortable that it's in the best interest of the department to place the officer on modified assignment," Bratton said.
He reiterated that Blake was 100 percent innocent of any involvement in the scheme, and said that once officers realized he was not involved he was immediately released from custody.
Bratton said in addition to wanting to extend apologies to Blake, authorities want to reach him so internal affairs detectives can set aside time to interview him about the exchange. Bratton said five of the six officers involved in the financial fraud investigation have been interviewed, but authorities have yet to speak with the officer who pinned James to the ground. Bratton said the internal affairs investigation will focus not only on whether the use of force was appropriate, but whether certain administrative protocols were violated in the documentation of the wrongful arrest after the incident.
On Thursday, Blake said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he wasn't hurt but is still "a little shaken up" by the exchange. He said he wanted an apology.
"I'd like an apology," Blake said on the show. "We all need to be held accountable for our actions, police as well."
He added, "Most cops are doing a great job at keeping us safe, but when you police with reckless abandon, you need to be held accountable ... these that are doing police work the wrong way need to pay for their actions. They need to either be shown the door or be punished."
"I'm happy that my reaction was that I was smiling at the person because I see if I put up my arms up or anything it could be seen as resistance and instead of a bruise I could have some broken bones or serious injuries," he said.
He added, "I'm lucky enough to be able to tell this story."
Blake, who is biracial, told ABC Thursday he didn't think the case was an instance of racial profiling. A day earlier, though, he told reporters he thought race played a role in the arrest.
Bratton said investigators want to speak to Blake before they talk to the officer who arrested him.
Undercover cops investigating a theft ring using fraudulent credit cards to make cellphone purchases were working with a delivery man to identify suspects, the NYPD says.
The Daily News reported that after one of the officer's brought Blake down, he allegedly yelled, "Don't say a word" and commanded him to roll over.
Several other cops swarmed and proceeded with the arrest until a retired NYPD officer who was working as a security guard told the cops, "That's James Blake, the tennis player." Blake, who was in town for the U.S. Open, told officers to look at his license and tournament credentials in their pocket.
They still ran his license, Blake said Thursday. He said he told them "the worst you're going to find is a speeding ticket."
That's when the officers realized their mistake and apologized, according to the News, but the paper said the first officer who tackled him never said a word.
In a statement to NBC 4 New York, NYPD spokesman Peter Donald said a cooperating witness had misidentified Blake and that internal affairs would investigate.
"Once Blake was properly identified and found to have no connection to the investigation, he was released from police custody immediately. In regards to the alleged improper use of force, the Police Commissioner directed the internal affairs bureau to investigate," the statement said.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said internal affairs detectives were sent to the hotel and have already identified "a number of witnesses." He says investigators are also looking to obtain surveillance video from the hotel that may have captured the arrest.
At the peak of his tennis career, Blake was ranked No. 4 in the world. Knee problems and other injuries affected his playing and he retired from tennis after a three-set loss at the 2013 US Open. The Harvard-educated player is originally from Yonkers and was known for his charity work throughout his career.
Photo Credit: NBC 4 New York