WATCH: Plainclothes NYPD Officer Tackles James Blake (Updated)

By SIMONE WILSON (Patch Staff)

A surveillance video released by the New York Police Department (NYPD) on Friday shows former Fairfield resident and tennis great James Blake being tackled by a plainclothes police officer in front of the Grand Hyatt New York in Midtown Manhattan.

The video shows Blake, 35, standing at the hotel entrance, fiddling with his cellphone, when an officer comes out of nowhere and throws him to the ground.

Blake, who was in town for the U.S. Open, had given a similar account of the aggressive police takedown on Sept. 9 in an interview with the New York Daily News.

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

An Instagram photo leaked to TMZ of the intended target did appear to resemble Blake. However, the NYPD later admitted that even the target turned out to be innocent.

“The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau interviewed James Blake last night,” the department said in a statement issued on Friday. “The NYPD is releasing video footage from the September 9th incident outside of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan. A copy of the video was provided to Mr. Blake’s attorney. The investigation is still ongoing.”

The department announced earlier in the week that one officer had been placed on “modified assignment” after an Internal Affairs investigation into the incident.

Blake, a Fairfield Warde graduate, issued a statement of his own on Friday. Full text below.

“Just before noon on Wednesday, while I was standing on a sidewalk outside my hotel in midtown Manhattan waiting for a car to take me to the U.S. Open, a plainclothes New York City Police officer tackled me to the ground, handcuffed me, paraded me down a crowded sidewalk, and detained me for ten minutes before he and his four colleagues realized they had the wrong man. The officer, who was apparently investigating a case of credit card fraud, did not identify himself as a member of law enforcement, ask my name, read me my rights, or in any way afford me the dignity and respect due every person who walks the streets of this country. And while I continue to believe the vast majority of our police officers are dedicated public servants who conducted themselves appropriately, I know that what happened to me is not uncommon.

When this incident was reported in the news media, Mayor De Blasio and Commissioner Bratton both called me to extend their personal apologies, and I greatly appreciate those gestures. But extending courtesy to a public figure mistreated by the police is not enough. As I told the commissioner, 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. 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 neighbourhoods where incidents of the type I experienced occur all too frequently. The Commissioner has agreed to meet with my representatives and me to discuss our ideas in that regard, and we very much look forward to that meeting.”

NYPD Commissioner William Bratton and NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio likewise announced they’d apologized to Blake.

Bratton said:

“I spoke to Mr. Blake a short time ago and personally apologized for yesterday’s incident. Mr. Blake indicated he would be willing to meet with the Internal Affairs Bureau as our investigation continues. Additionally, he said he would be returning the Mayor’s earlier phone call to speak to him. Mr. Blake said he would like to meet with the Mayor and me at a future date, which we would be agreeable to.”

In the Daily News interview, Blake said he had been waiting for a car to take him to Flushing Meadows, Queens, where he planned to make corporate appearances for Time-Warner Cable. He was texting on his phone, he said, when he looked up and saw someone in shorts and a T-Shirt charging at him.

“Maybe I’m naïve, but I just assumed it was someone I went to high school with or something who was running at me to give me a big hug, so I smiled at the guy,” Blake said.

He said the officer picked him up, threw him onto the sidewalk, yelled at him to roll over and said, “Don’t say a word.”

Four more officers eventually joined the first, Blake said. They had him handcuffed for about 15 minutes, he said, before the officers realized their mistake and apologized. However, according to Blake, the officer who tackled him never said sorry or otherwise admitted wrongdoing.