NYPD Union Releases Statement Defending Police Action in James Blake Incident

Debate regarding the excessive use of force by police flared up last week in the wake of former tennis star James Blake's wrongful arrest by the New York Police Department, and the NYPD union released a statement Tuesday addressing how its officers are framed in the media.

According to Newsweek's Polly Mosendz, the statement from union president Patrick J. Lynch revolved around a perceived disconnect between officers in the field and journalists covering the issue: 

"

The NYPD union just sent this email to reporters telling us we aren't "qualified to judge the actions of police" pic.twitter.com/SqmsJNxCsk

— Polly Mosendz (@polly) September 15, 2015"

Last week, Blake was physically taken to the ground by James Frascatore, a plainclothes officer who was pursuing the subject of a credit card fraud investigation.

"I was standing there doing nothing—not running, not resisting, in fact smiling," Blake said last week during an appearance on Good Morning America, according to the New York Times' Benjamin Mueller, Al Baker and Liz Robbins. 

According to the New York Times, Blake added that the officer "picked me up and bodyslammed me and put me on the ground and told me to turn over and shut my mouth, and put the cuffs on me."

Frascatore has since been stripped of his badge and gun, measures that Blake spoke out in support of, according to the Associated Press' Jake Pearson (via BusinessInsider.com).

"I think that that kind of police officer tarnishes the badge, which I have the utmost respect for and I believe that the majority of police officers do great work and they're heroes," Blake told Pearson. "So this person doesn't ever belong in the same sentence with the heroes that are doing the right kind of police work and keeping the public safe."

According to Mueller and Nate Schweber of the New York Times, Frascatore has had several excessive-force complaints filed against him since 2012. 

Back in 2009, the city of New York invested $29 million in an initiative to retain police officers and improve community relations, with Mayor Bill de Blasio and police commissioner William J. Bratton noting the NYPD has aimed "to vigorously implement these reforms that build trust and respect between police officers and the people they serve," per Mueller and Schweber.