(September 9, 2015) The New York Daily News reported Wednesday afternoon that James Blake “was slammed to a Manhattan sidewalk and handcuffed by a white cop in a brutal case of mistaken identity.”
Blake said 
that he was thrown to the ground and then handcuffed while mistakenly being arrested Wednesday at the Grand Hyatt hotel on East 42nd Street in Manhattan.
The 35-year-old Blake who retired two years ago and who was as high as No. 4 in the world, was detained and arrested by plainclothes police officers.
He told the Daily News: “It was definitely scary and definitely crazy,” Blake said. “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.”
“Maybe I’m naïve, but I just assumed it was someone I went to high school with or someone who was running at me to give me a big hug, so I smiled at the guy,” Blake said.
“To me it’s as simple as unnecessary police force, no matter what my race is,” he told the newspaper. “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 have resources to get to the bottom of this. I have a voice,” Blake said. “But what about someone who doesn’t have those resources and doesn’t have a voice?”
Blake told the Daily News he would like an apology from the department, and he wants to hear there will be repercussions for the officers involved.
Read the New York Daily News report: