JAMES BLAKE AND HIS “BEAU GESTE” TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK
James Blake was standing in front of a hotel — his hotel, the Grand Hyatt on 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan — waiting for transportation and otherwise minding his own business. How often has any hotel guest since the dawn of time done just that in NYC? Or anyplace else for that matter, without fear or consternation?
Certainly Blake, 37, who matriculated at Harvard in the late 1990s and went on to become tennis’ #4-ranked professional singles player in the world (November 2006) had no reason to be afraid at that moment. It was September 9, 2015 so chances are his head was down and his nose was buried in his smartphone. (The surveillance video corroborates this as well as that which followed). Just goes to show you.
Blake was awaiting the arrival of a car to transport him to an event at the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, when a classic case of mistaken identity unfolded.
Using excessive force, New York City police officer James Frascatore appeared out of nowhere and manhandled Blake, tackling him and wrestling him to the sidewalk face-down. With a knee firmly planted in Blake’s back the cop handcuffed him none-too-gently, rolled him over and sat him up before bringing him to his feet and whisking him away.
Blake was thought to be a suspect in a fraudulent credit card ring case. For whatever it may be worth, Blake is bi-racial. His father is African-American and his mother is white and British; officer Frascatore is white.
Oh yes, Frascatore and his cohorts failed to report the mistaken arrest as they are mandated to do, raising the spectre that it might have been quashed had Blake not spoken out.
Interestingly Frascatore, 40, has thus far avoided a public disciplinary hearing pertinent to this matter, his history of force complaints notwithstanding.
In 2012, a Queens man stated that he was pulled over for a broken tail light, opened his door and was punched in the face three times by Frascatore, otherwise unprovoked.
(In fairness, opening the door if not instructed to do so can and probably should be perceived as a threat by any police officer, particularly in today’s world. How the officer reacts to what may or not be a threat is what makes horse racing, if you will. People are different and thank God for that).
The next year another Queens resident claimed that the officer punched him in the stomach repeatedly outside a bodega and showered him with racial epithets.
Both complainants were men of color. A federal lawsuit brought in one of the cases was settled by the city for a tidy sum of $169,000.
As for the Blake case, ostensibly lawyers for Frascatore brokered a deal with the Civilian Complaint Review Board which investigates and prosecutes accusations of misconduct and abuse by police officers, sparing him a trial in an administrative proceeding on excessive force charges.
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed and the officer’s punishment may also remain under wraps given that Mayor Bill de Blasio and his crew have adopted the position that police officers’ disciplinary records are protected by a state civil rights statute and thereby not subject to public release.
Advocates of police transparency are more than a bit upset. The statute, New York Consolidated Laws, Civil Rights Law-CVR 50-a, 1976: Personnel records of police officers, firefighters and correction officers, was recently affirmed — in two separate lawsuits — by a state appeals court in Manhattan.
Blake and his lawyer, Kevin H. Marino, refused comment when queried about the officer’s deal with the review board, as did the Police Department, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and the attorney representing Frascatore, Stephen C. Worth.
In the immediate aftermath of his travails with Frascatore, Blake sought only an apology but upon deeper reflection (and no doubt after learning of the officer’s history with respect to his use of excessive force) he decided to file a notice of claim announcing his intention to sue the city over the episode.
Blake wanted to use his prominence to help New Yorkers who were less visible. He explained, “I decided I can’t let this happen to other people without me saying something. I need to do what I can to help.”
Then he changed his mind again.
After having suggested a number of reforms to be considered for implementation and expressing his incredulity that an officer with such a checkered past and an abysmal excessive force record could be allowed to remain on the street, Blake opted to spurn a potential payout from the city in favor of a less orthodox resolution.
Spirited negotiations led to a mutually-serving compromise.
The city will create a legal fellowship in James Blake’s name within the agency that investigates police misconduct. This resolves Blake’s legal claim against the city. As part of the agreement, the city will pay around $175,000 to cover travel costs for Blake and fees incurred by his legal team over the nearly two years of negotiations.
The fellow, set to join the review board in January 2018, will perform outreach in neighborhoods with a high volume of police complaints in an effort to help the agency close more of its investigations.
Last year 55% of agency investigations remained open because victims or witnesses stopped cooperating or because the agency was unable to reach these people in order to ultimately close cases. Others dropped their complaints; withdrawn and gone… into the wind.
Never mind money for himself, Blake saw the outrageous set of circumstances which had befallen him as fortuitous.
He had a platform to make a real difference and his sad and certainly avoidable happenstance — unfortunate as it was — would be the vehicle to help achieve his goal.
Getting it done would demand following it through no matter how personally uncomfortable, so that those for whom navigation through the complaint process was daunting, frightening even and unfulfilling could at the very least have an advocate arguing on their behalves to make it easier for them.
Making a real difference was more important to Blake than the state of his bank account or the sting and embarrassment of the unprovoked physical abuse he was made to endure. Whatever discomfort — mental angst or physical pain — he may have felt proved quickly to be of negligible concern to him and of little moment.
No surprise.
No wonder either, that de Blasio was happy with Blake’s posture, i.e. his agreement to have a legal fellowship created in his name.
He and then-Police Commissioner Bill Bratton had offered weak antiseptic apologies to Blake in the wake of the 2015 debacle and could hardly wait to wash their hands of the whole thing.
Regarding the agreement with Blake de Blasio flapped, “The tireless efforts of committed and qualified fellows will help deliver on the transparency and accountability civilians and police officers deserve by ensuring that more complaints are thoroughly investigated and more cases are closed.”
Nice try Billy.
Blake is a smart and good person who tries to do the right thing. Bill de Blasio and the NYC PC have very difficult jobs to perform. All parties are to be commended for many things.
But although hearts are in the right places, etc. if you mean to tell me that the fellow, a lawyer who will serve a two-year-term after having been thoroughly vetted — screened by the city’s Law Department and the review board and God knows whomever else — and command $65,000 in compensation (in line with other review board jobs, I’m told) earmarked from the review board’s budget, can be the answer, I respectfully submit that we all know we’re not grabbing at straws but flailing at them. Finding a variety of small nicely-shaped and colorful band-aids to slap onto a broken leg.
Nowhere near what is needed. Not a joke, or worthless but something like a perfunctory pat on the head with a dismissive ruffling of the hair. Not much. Immemorable. Artificial.
(Personally I can no longer use the word, “fake,” for reasons which should be obvious).
But consider this: The review board has 4 outreach workers who attend community meetings to talk about the work of the board, their own.
The new fellow? As the late great Freddie Prinze, Sr. uttered on occasion, “not my job.”
The new fellow will concentrate on educating folks about the arduous complaint process and the sworn statements critical to preventing the likelihood that cases be prematurely closed.
I ask you. Who’s zoomin’ who here?
Blake has taken the city off the hook but has agreed to a swiss cheese proposition which although better than nothing, and a step in the right direction is just that…a very small step.
There is strength in numbers. How about hiring a half dozen of these fellows for longer terms at whatever the cost, to stand a reasonable chance of effecting change? Set them up to succeed by building a viable unit around them to support them. Trumpet the cause, a very good one. And spend.
This is New York City, long revered as a global trendsetter and one of the world’s great jewels by any measure. Snap out of it and get real. Embellish your legacy by playing big and doing the right thing.
And as for Officer Frascatore? Reprimand him, censure him, suspend him without pay, confine him to desk duty, do whatever it takes to ensure that he — and others — get the message and that it resonates.
Zero tolerance for excessive force.
Oh yes. Please feel free to let us know how it all worked out, won’t you?
We’d love to hear about it.
[Editor’s Note; This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in July 2017.]
