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FORMER top US tennis player James Blake demanded an apology yesterday from the New York Police Department after officers slammed him to the ground.
The former world No 4 (pictured) said that he was standing outside his hotel about to head to the US Open when he looked up from his phone and saw an officer charging him.
He was manhandled to the ground, handcuffed and arrested. Blake told the cops to check his identification and was released — but the officer never identified himself.
Blake, who is mixed race, 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.”
The officer who tackled Blake has been stripped of his gun and badge pending an investigation.
The department insisted that officers were looking for a phone scammer. Commissioner Bill Bratton — whom David Cameron wanted to install as head of the Metropolitan Police — claimed that the man in question looked like “the twin brother of Mr Blake.”
