New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Thursday that “race has nothing at all to do” with an incident the day before in which five white police officers mistakenly tackled and handcuffed black ex-tennis pro James Blake outside his hotel.
Bratton told CNN’s “New Day” that an investigation had been launched, but he defended the officers, saying a suspect in an identity theft ring looked “like the twin brother” of Blake.
Blake, who is black, had a cut on his left elbow and bruises on his left leg following the incident. He was headed to the U.S. Open and to make corporate appearances for Time-Warner cable. He was previously ranked No. 4 in the world for tennis.
“If you look at the photograph of the suspect, it looks like the twin brother of Mr. Blake. So let’s put that nonsense to rest right now,” Bratton told CNN. “Sorry, race has nothing at all to do with this.”
Video from the incident led to one officer to be placed on desk duty, Bratton told the news channel.
