Not being exactly known as the champion of the average New Yorker makes the New York Times’ scathing editorial calling out the NYPD for brutality all the more remarkable. In an uncommon act of public representation, the NYT Editorial Board calls for the dismissal of the latest officer caught in a brutal and illegal act of racism and demands that systemic changes be made to the police department’s operating policies.
…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.
Video surveillance cameras caught an NYPD officer assaulting Harvard educated James Blake, a retired tennis player who once ranked 4th in the world. Blake was jumped after leaving his midtown hotel on Wednesday, Sept. 9 on his way to represent Times Warner Cable at the U.S. Open.
Clip of tackle begins at 2:42
Blake told a Daily News reporter, “The real problem is that I was tackled for no reason and that happens to a lot of people who don’t have a media outlet to voice that to.” But Blake certainly does, and he knows how to use it, so this could be the incident that causes real changes to New York City’s style of policing.
Photo via Wikipedia
I’m glad he’s shining the light on this situation but I agree if he was DeAndre this wouldn’t be a topic of discussion. We certainly wouldn’t have seen the video and there would not be an apology. I think it was also a wakeup call for him as well, he referred to himself as biracial and they saw a black man. He has a powerful voice to do much!
That’s what I’m thinking too Dee. Clearly, the only reason this story was picked up by national news is because of Blake’s celebrity status … but the fact that the incident provoked the NYT to take a stand on the issue of police brutality – to me, that is a huge step in the right direction and perhaps an unprecedented one. It certainly surprised me.
A win, is a win. So we have cause to celebrate :p
Why we push for Justice for ALL
I think this may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s so blatantly wrong Dee. Did you have the chance to read my post?
Kimi, I know that this is blatantly wrong but what I don’t like is that they are making a big deal of this because of his celebrity status. Many men have been and are being brutalized by the police every day and nothing gets done. One can only hope that this will bring attention to the cause. On a positive note maybe he can use his celebrity status to make a difference in changing laws.
Why, because of his celebrity status? What about all the others that this happens to? He gets no preferential treatment here. Brutality is brutality no matter who is on the receiving end.