Former tennis star James Blake slammed the NYPD for its “broken disciplinary system” after it was reported that the officer who tackled him in 2015 was penalized with a loss of five vacation days. .
“Losing a few vacation days for the use of excessive force, following a history of repeated civilian complaints, is not meaningful discipline,” Blake said in a statement. “It is this continued failure of the NYPD’s disciplinary system that perpetuates police abuses, brutality and misconduct, and leads to the unjust killings of civilians.”
Blake was wrongfully arrested in September 2015 outside his hotel on East 42nd Street because Officer James Frascatore thought he was a suspect in an identity-theft investigation. Frascatore ran up to Blake, tackled him to the ground and handcuffed him, video of the encounter showed.
The officer, who has had other civilian complaints filed against him, was later found guilty of using excessive force. While the guilty verdict and penalty are not generally made public because of a state civil rights law, the New York Daily News reported Friday that Frascatore got a penalty of five lost vacation days.
The prosecutor in the case had recommended a loss of 10 vacation days, which Blake also did not think would be sufficient.
“Following the public disciplinary trial of police Officer James Frascatore, the commissioner finalized the case, consistent with the findings and recommendations of the trial’s commissioner,” the NYPD said in a statement to the Daily News.
