James Blake with NYPD Officer James Frascatore on top of him outside of his Manhattan hotel
On September 15, the
New York Times editorial board
released a scathing critique of the New York Police Department, Commissioner William Bratton, and Mayor Bill De Blasio in the wake of the unjust assault and arrest of tennis star James Blake. It begins by calling for the termination of Officer James Frascatore.
Yes, they can start by firing him.
James Frascatore, the New York City police officer who jumped and assaulted an innocent man, James Blake, in Manhattan last Wednesday, has disgraced the department. Commissioner William Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio should make an example of him. They should make it clear that his unprovoked aggression — caught by a security camera, so there is no doubt about what he did — reflects everything that causes people to distrust and hate the N.Y.P.D. The officer’s further transgressions — not identifying himself to Mr. Blake, not apologizing, failing to void the arrest in follow-up paperwork — speak to an appalling lack of judgment by someone unfit for the job.
The editorial board rightly went much further than this by calling into question why Officer Frascatore hasn't already been arrested for assault; why the multitude of previous complaints for racism and assault against him have basically been ignored; why the NYPD is still continuing its abusive police practices in spite of pledges not to; why the local police union has issued statements claiming that Officer Frascatore doesn't deserve any punishment; and why city leaders are continuing down the well-worn path of police abuse and denial.
It's hard not to be pessimistic about what the city will do here, though. In spite of chokeholds being banned and having a series of previous complaints, the officer who killed Eric Garner is still on the force. So is the officer who shot and killed Akai Gurley. Maybe, just maybe, the infamy and attention brought on by the NYPD assaulting a tennis star will make a difference here.