City Awards Fellowship Created By Wrongly-Arrested Tennis Pro

NEW YORK, NY — The city has awarded a fellowship created in coordination with wrongly-arrested tennis pro James Blake in an effort to improve the board that reports police misconduct, city officials announced this week.

Bernadette Brown, a former deputy director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, will serve as the inaugural James Blake CCRB Fellow, city officials said. During the two-year fellowship Brown will work with the Civilian Complaint Review Board's outreach, advocacy and administrative units.

One of Brown's priorities with the board will be to investigate the barriers currently facing civilians from completing the complaint process. Last year 55 percent of civilian complaints of police misconduct were cut short before a full investigation, city officials said.

"After years of examining law enforcement and criminal justice institutions, I have learned that progress starts with meeting people where they are, listening to their concerns, and taking action based on what they need," Brown said in a statement. "I am eager to work closely with both civilians and members of the NYPD over the next two years to build upon the steps the Agency already has taken to more thoroughly investigate complaints and resolve cases."

The James Blake CCRB Fellowship was created in June 2017 after the high-profile false arrest of former tennis pro James Blake. Blake agreed not to sue the city for the 2015 wrong arrest, which included being tackled to the ground outside of a Midtown Manhattan hotel, in exchange for funding the fellowship for six years.

The CCRB found that NYPD officer James Frascatore used excessive force while arresting Blake outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel on East 42nd Street. Surveillance video released by the NYPD showed Blake standing at the entrance of the hotel, fiddling with his cellphone, when Frascatore comes out of nowhere and throws him to the ground.

After Blake came forward, NYPD officials said the tennis star had been mistaken for a man wanted in connection with an identity-theft ring.

“After a distressing encounter with a police officer in 2015, I was lucky to not suffer worse injuries and also fortunate that I had the ability to stand up and fight for what’s right," Blake said in a statement. "While improving police-community relations is an ongoing endeavor, this fellowship is a large step in the right direction."

Photo courtesy NYPD