12/21/24
September 10, 2015
James Blake reportedly thrown to the ground, cuffed and detained by several NYPD officers.: Blake, retired for the past two years, is in NYC to appear at US Open related events. NYPD officers say they mistook him for a suspect in a fraudulent credit card operation. James, who has cuts and bruises as a result of the event stated "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. I was just standing there. I wasn’t running. It’s blatantly unnecessary. You would think at some point they would get the memo that this isn’t O.K., but it seems that there’s no stopping it.”
posted by Ufez Jones to culture at 12:27 AM - 9 comments
And this is after the NYPD has invested a lot of money in various areas and Bratton is supposedly committed to changing the force and they even have a Tisch handling the technology effort.
They still have a long way to go.
posted by beaverboard at 09:58 AM on September 10, 2015
NYPD officers say they mistook him for a suspect in a fraudulent credit card operation.
Are we really at the point in our society where identity thieves need to be taken down bodily if they're not even running?
posted by Etrigan at 10:53 AM on September 10, 2015
Are we really at the point in our society where identity thieves any suspects need to be taken down bodily if they're not even running?
FTFY, Etrigan.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:14 PM on September 10, 2015
So Blake's standing outside a posh Manhattan hotel waiting for a ride to a corporate event, and presumably dressed up for the occasion. A rando in a T-shirt and shorts charges him aggressively.
It would've been an understandable reaction if Blake defended himself from a possible attack by a crazy person or stalker.
If he had, the cops likely tell a different story in which he's to blame for the circumstances.
posted by rcade at 12:31 PM on September 10, 2015
They misidentified an identity thief?
So META!*
*META Even This Acronym
posted by grum@work at 02:28 PM on September 10, 2015
Are we really at the point in our society where identity thieves any suspects* need to be taken down bodily if they're not even running?
* - Does not apply to white terrorists in Charleston, SC. Those suspects are taken out to lunch instead.
posted by NoMich at 02:45 PM on September 10, 2015
Video of the incident has been released by the NYPD. Seems to back up exactly what Blake has been saying.
posted by Ufez Jones at 04:37 PM on September 11, 2015
It gets dumber. Apparently the guy police were after also was "misidentified." That means the officer attacked an innocent man while looking for an innocent man.
I don't know if these rogue officers who attack and shoot non-violent people were taught to intimidate through force or voice, or "roid rage," or just that they're a**holes who slipped through background checks.
I only wish the 99-plus percent of officers ("good cops") would ignore the "blue wall of silence" and speak out against those who tarnish their badges. It could be by speaking privately to council members, or being an "anonymous source" to the media, but more of them need to inform people about these bastards.
posted by jjzucal at 05:52 PM on September 12, 2015
There are a lot of terrible cops these days making the good ones look bad. Since when is it OK to take down someone who's just standing there watching you approach him and offering zero resistance?