*The New York City police officer who body-slammed former tennis star James Blake outside a Manhattan hotel in 2015 has reached a disciplinary agreement with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, reports The New York Times.
James Frascatore was charged with excessive force and had faced possible dismissal from his job. It is not clear how or if he will be disciplined under the agreement reached with the board.
The deal also allowed him to sidestep a public hearing that was set for Monday, according to the Times.
Blake was leaning against a pole just outside the door of the Grand Hyatt New York in midtown Manhattan in September 2015 when Frascatore, dressed in plainclothes, swooped in and tackled him to the ground by his arm. Frascatore then cuffed Blake before helping him up and hauling him off.
Police later said Blake was misidentified as being involved in a credit card scheme that was using the hotel for drop offs. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and then-Police Commissioner William Bratton both apologized to Blake, who said “extending courtesy to a public figure mistreated by the police is not enough.”
The incident exacerbated ongoing racial tension between police and minority communities in New York, as well as use-of-force issues.
“I am determined to use my voice to turn this unfortunate incident into a catalyst for change in the relationship between the police and the public they serve,” Blake said at the time. “For that reason, I am calling upon the City of New York to make a significant financial commitment to improving that relationship, particularly in those neighborhoods where incidents of the type I experienced occur all too frequently.”
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