James Blake, former tennis star, slammed to ground and handcuffed...

[BklnDem75]

EXCLUSIVE: James Blake, former tennis star, slammed to ground and handcuffed outside midtown hotel by white NYPD cops who mistook him for ID theft suspect

Former tennis great James Blake was slammed to the ground, handcuffed and detained by five plainclothes city cops Wednesday outside his midtown hotel before heading out to the U.S. Open, Blake told the Daily News.

The officers, who were all white, mistook Blake for a suspect in an identity theft ring operating around the midtown hotel.

The incident occurred around noon in front of the Grand Hyatt on East 42 St., as Blake, a 35-year-old African-American who attended Harvard before going on tour, was waiting for a car to take him to Flushing Meadows, where he was making corporate appearances for Time-Warner Cable.

"It was definitely scary and definitely crazy," said Blake, who was once ranked No. 4 in the world and was among the most popular U.S. players of his generation. He suffered a cut to his left elbow and bruises to his left leg.


http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/ex-tennis-star-james-blake-mistakenly-tackled-white-cops-article-1.2353983



I guess James' education and economic situation didn't do much for him.

[randys1]

1. Nothing to see here, move along. This NEVER happens, so it happened once, big deal

Black people have special rights in America and we all know it

[arcane1]

2. Why politicize this by adding a lame strawman to your post?

Now you're just exploiting him to score invalid points. Shameful.

[BklnDem75]

5. Because there's nothing political about police violence/brutality, right?

Welcome to the AA group.

[arcane1]

6. There shouldn't be. It's a national problem n/t

[CreekDog]

16. did you just say it's a national problem not a political one?

those things aren't mutually exclusive.

are you just looking for something to disagree with on this topic?

[arcane1]

17. It's a national problem with police, yes.

But will require at least some political solutions, I presume. New laws governing police behavior for starters.

[stevenleser]

9. You are posting in a safe haven for folks concerned about African American rights and justice

I may not be a host here but I know most of them and feel confident in saying your opinion is not appreciated here.

[arcane1]

10. I agree that social justice matters, so I'm not sure what your point is.

Nor do I really much care.

Economic reform is a necessity.
Criminal justice/police reform is necessary.

Two necessary things.

I think we're in agreement.

[JustAnotherGen]

11. His education and social class didn't help him

And those are points that I demand be scored.


ETA: http://www.democraticunderground.com/11878394

[Cha]

13. Because it's not a fucking strawman. Deal with it.

[stillwaiting]

3. Horrible. Things must change. Soon. nt

[Journeyman]

4. ". . . there's no reason for anybody to do that to anybody."

Well said, Mr Blake. Well said.

Even if he were the perpetrator, unless he was resisting arrest there's no need to slam anyone to the ground like that.

And frankly, I find it difficult to believe someone in Mr Blake's position would have "resisted arrest." Unless, of course, "resisting" is loosely defined as a man waiting for a cab responding to the appearance of plainclothes police making demands with:

"Wha? Who? Huh?"

I can hear the arraignment charge now.

"Your honor, we approached the perp from behind, loudly identified ourselves and demanded he get down on the ground. The obviously guilty so-and-so then said, and I quote, 'Wha? Who? Huh?' So we took his criminal ass to the sidewalk! How was I to know someone exiting the Grand Hyatt on 42nd Street isn't a criminal?"

Of course, in the police officers' defense, most of the criminals in that part of town wear suits and expensive designer clothes, so Mr Blake, on his way to make corporate appearances for a U.S. Open sponsor, just naturally blended into the local criminal milieu.

[MADem]

7. I hope he sues and gets a massive payday.

I would love to see the "actual perp" to find out how much they resemble one another....or not.

[stevenleser]

8. Exactly. Social justice matters and black lives matter.

His money and social class did not help him. Exactly.

[leftofcool]

12. But, but this wouldn't happen if he had economic justice..............

Do I really need a sarcasm tag here?

[Cha]

14. Tweet pic of James Blake in his Tennis Whites, BklnDem

New York Daily News
✔ ‎@NYDailyNews
JUST IN: Ex-tennis star James Blake slammed to ground, handcuffed near Midtown hotel by cops. http://nydn.us/1ie9XYp
9:44 AM - 9 Sep 2015 731 731 Retweets
212 212 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2015/09/09/a-tweet-or-two-314/

[Stellar]

15. As someone posted at the link you provided....

living while black.

[MrScorpio]

18. In thread of mine, where I noted another incident of abusive policing…

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7149203

One of the chimers-in stated that cops have a process before they go all Rambo on somebody…

Yeah, right.