Related News
‘Handcuffed’ Blake wants cop apology
Print Edition
FORMER tennis professional James Blake says he wants an apology from New York City police after a case of mistaken identity led to him being handcuffed.
Blake said yesterday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that everyone should be held accountable for their actions, including police.
He says he was standing outside Manhattan’s Grand Hyatt New York hotel on Wednesday waiting to head to the US Open when he saw an officer charging him. He says he was body-slammed and handcuffed.
He told officers to check his identification, and he was released. Blake says the officer never identified himself.
The officer has been stripped of his gun and badge. Police are investigating.
Police Commissioner William Bratton told CNN the man police were seeking looked like “the twin brother of Mr Blake”.
Blake, who had been scheduled to make a corporate appearance for Time-Warner Cable at the US Open, suffered a cut to his left elbow and bruises to his left leg.
Blake earlier told New York’s Daily News he was telling the story to highlight the issue of excessive police force. “I have resources to get to the bottom of this,” he said. “I have a voice. But what about someone who doesn’t have those resources and doesn’t have a voice?”
Blake said that after being shoved to the sidewalk, he was detained by five white plainclothes city police officers. But the New York native, who is black, stopped short of calling it racial profiling.
“I don’t know if it’s as simple as that,” the 35-year-old Blake told the News. “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.”
Blake won 10 titles in his career, making almost US$8 million, but last played on the tour in 2013.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
