Officer who arrested James Blake has past excessive force claims
The police officer who arrested former tennis star James Blake outside of a New York hotel on Wednesday has a long list of past excessive force allegations, according to the Associated Press.
Officer James Frascatore currently has two federal lawsuits pending against him involving claims from men who say they were beaten, pepper sprayed and falsely arrested.
The report also cites a 2014 investigation from radio station WNYC that claims the 38-year-old officer had five complaints filed against him during a seven-month period in 2013.
• NYPD apologizes to James Blake for mistaken identity incident
Blake, who is African-American, suffered a cut to his left elbow and bruises to his left leg after being slammed to the ground. After the incident, Blake told the New York Daily News that he believes his race may have been a factor.
"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 said.
The officers involved in the incident claim it stemmed from a case of misidentification.
During his playing career, Blake was among the top American tennis players, reaching No. 4 in the ATP rankings.
- Alex Nieves
