frascatore punches me in the side of the head.officer behind me, he grabs me around my waist, picks me up and slams the to the ground. i'm like, what is going on? arethird officer says, you riding your bike on the sidewalk. i'm like, what are you talking about? frascatore drops down on me. the guy behind me hit me in my back. i'm getting hit on my side. i see two other cops come down. i'm getting hit on, hit on. asking, what are they doing? nobody is saying anything to make us on screaming for my girlfriend. she doesn't respond. i starts coming, help! as loud as i could. when the other two officers get down, one of the officers, i believe it was frascatore from the direction of where he came from, but i hear him say, mason. i'm thinking, it is getting bad. i'm being beaten and no one is responding. nobody is outside, it's dark, so i start screaming louder and louder, help, help, help, some of the help -- somebody help! i close my eyes and i'm getting hit. i hear again, mace him again. i get maced a second time. i'm still getting h

frascatore punches me in the side of the head.officer behind me, he grabs me around my waist, picks me up and slams the to the ground. i'm like, what is going on? arethird officer says, you riding your bike on the sidewalk. i'm like, what are you talking about? frascatore drops down on me. the guy behind me hit me in my back. i'm getting hit on my side. i see two other cops come down. i'm getting hit on, hit on. asking, what are they doing? nobody is saying anything to make us on screaming for my girlfriend. she doesn't respond. i starts coming, help! as loud as i could. when the other two officers get down, one of the officers, i believe it was frascatore from the direction of where he came from, but i hear him say, mason. i'm thinking, it is getting bad. i'm being beaten and no one is responding. nobody is outside, it's dark, so i start screaming louder and louder, help, help, help, some of the help -- somebody help! i close my eyes and i'm getting hit. i hear again, mace him again. i get maced a second time. i'm still getting h

frascatore is now on desk duty stripped of his gun and badge while this incident is under investigation. warren diggs who claims he had a similar encounter with the officer in 2013 telling our new york city station wabc, it's about time. >> i'm upset it took this happening to a famous person for anyone to know and investigate and be honest about it. >> reporter: and the police commissioner and mayor are reissuing the apology asking for improvements to the nypd from blake. blake wants the city of fork to spend money on the relationship between police and the public in neighborhoods where incidents like these happen more frequently. paula. >> yeah, blake determined to turn this into a teachable moment, phillip, thank you. >>> we turn now to california where one massive out-of-control wildfire is responsible for burning over 60,000 acres in just the last couple of days. thousands of homes now threatened. the governor issued a state of emergency and residents have now been told to get out. abc's aditi roy is on the front lines in jackson, california, for us this morning. hi, aditi. >> repor

two men who filed sets against officer frascatore joins us.in who filed a lawsuit against the officer in 2013 along with his attorney and warren diggs is also here. he filed a lawsuit earlier this year. he's here with his attorney, m aim -- amy rambo. this is a little nerve-racking to get in front of the cameras. we'll just talk about your experiences. what did you think about when you saw and heard about what happened to james blake? >> i wasn't surprised at all. he finally met his matchmaker, somebody with a higher rank, i guess. he went overboard. >> it's interesting you say he went overboard. >> he went overboard. exactly what he did to me, he did the same thing to this super star tennis player. >> do you think it took a super star to make this more public? >> that's usually how it goes, yes. i'm glad that something was able to happen to bring it to light, because my case is two years old. and nobody came to speak to me about anything. you know, now that it's happened, i get to let my side of the story out and let people see what's going o

officer frascatore, he's been put on desk assignment after this incident. but he is an a.efendant in at least two other cases alleging excessive force. one of those cases much more excess i force than we see here in this video. but he was still for two years after that on the street, you know, doing his job. why on desk assignment now, commissioner? >> allegations. allegations have to be investigated. police officers -- >> still being investigated? >> due process. this will be investigated. the other case will be investigated. as the lawyer you had on here said, cops receive a lot of allegations. a lot of them false allegations. just so they back off. you arrest somebody, they will make an allegation. i don't know if these cases were substantiated or not. i don't know if they were dismissed. >> he got put on desk duty right after this one. >> this matter, yeah. >> is that because it's on video, we're all talk ak it? >> sure. you have to make judgments on it. we're on cnn talking about it. >> we are. >> the department had to take some action. >> they with me commissioner ra

frascatore is now on desk duty stripped of his gun and badge while this incident is under investigation. warren diggs, who claims he had a similar encounter with the officer in 2013, telling our new york city station wabc, it's about time. >> i'm upset that it took something like this happening to i guess you could say a famous person for anybody to want to know and investigate and be honest about it. >> reporter: and both new york city's mayor and police commissioner are reiterating their apology to blake and promising to answer his calls for improvements to the nypd. and specifically blake says that he wants the city of new york to spend money on the relationship between police and the public in neighborhoods where incidents like these happen more frequently. paula. >> yeah, blake determined to turn this into a teachable moment. phillip, thank you. >>> and we turn now to california where one massive out-of-control wildfire is responsible for burning over 60,000 acres in just the last couple of days. thousands of homes now threatened. the governor has issued a state of emergency and re

voorks it shows blake casually standing outside a new york hotel when undercover officer james frascatore and tackles him to the g2;s authorities say it was a case of mistaken identity, cops were investigating credit card fraud. blake says it was an unnecessary use of force. >> that just doesn't make sense when you are investigating a nonviolent crime, a supposed nonviolent criminal that isn't running, isn't showing any sign of resisting, it really is completely unnecessary. >> frascatore has been placed on desk duty while the incident is being investigated. both new york city police commissioner william bratton and mayor bill deblasio apologized to blake. >> it's really nice, but this guy has five civilian complaints as well. i'm sure those people that have complained against him haven't got than same call. i think there needs to be an active apology to all those people that don't have the stature i have. we need to find a way to stop this from happening. >>> a plane carrying crew members from a tom cruise movie crashed in the columbian mountains, two people were dead, including a stunt

he cnn has reached out to officer frascatore but we have yet to hear back. >> i get his point. is, a celebrity, and everyone's apologizing but the other people who filed the civil cases, apparently no action taken on their behalf. thank you very much for the update. >>> and stay tuned, james blake is going to be live here on cnn today at noon eastern time with fredricka whitfield. >>> martin, president obama warning russia to stay out of syria and stop helping the assad regime. speaking of syria, the u.s., as you know, preparing to receive 10,000 of syrian refugees. where are they going to go? you will meet one woman who is willing to open her home to some. diabetes, steady is exciting. only glucerna has carbsteady, clinically proven to help minimize blood sugar spikes. so you stay steady ahead. iflike i love shrimp, red lobster's endless shrimp... ...is kind of a big deal. it's finally back, with as much shrimp as you want, any way you want 'em. one taste of these new pineapple habanero coconut shrimp bites, and i already want more. they even brought back wood-grilled teriyaki

. >> reporter: the undercover officer, james frascatore, on modified duty awaiting investigation. he was already pending two excessive force suits. >> makes me wonder why he was given this position to begin with. it was completely unnecessary. whether i was a criminal or not. whether i was the person they were looking for. i don't think the person they were looking for didn't deserve to be treated the way i was treated. that's the bigger issue, correcting that kind of behavior. >> reporter: both new york mayor and the police commissioner william bratton have personally apologized. is that enough? >> no, that's definitely not enough. i appreciate it. it's a nice gesture. >> reporter: in the statement the mayor and commissioner said the city has already invested $29 million to retrain service members when dealing with the community. they have agreed to meet with blake who says he is considering a lawsuit. that's what it takes to make a difference. >> because this happened to me, it can happen to anyone. we can't let that keep happening. >> reporter: kristin dahlgren, nbc news, new y

james blake has called for officer frascatore to be fired. in news from alabama, prosecutors say they plan to seek a retrial after a jury deadlocked in the trial of madison police officer in a case that left an indian grandfather partially paralyzed. in february, officer eric parker and other officers approached sureshbhai patel as he was taking a walk, after a neighbor called to report a skinny black guy" in the neighborhood. dash camera footage shows police slamming patel from a standing position face into the ground. first on friday, a judge declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked on a single charge of against the officer of violating patel's civil rights. in news from the campaign trail, former texas governor rick perry has become the first candidate to drop out of the 2016 presidential race. perry suspended his bid for the republican nomination friday, just days before the second republican debate. as he announced his departure, perry took aim at republican candidate donald trump's remarks calling mexican immigrants "rapists," althou

now the arresting officer james frascatore has been placed on desk duty as the internal affairs bureauates the incident. the four-year veteran of the police department has a spotty incident. fras catore has been named in several lawsuits alleging excess i forbes and had four civilian complaints against him. blake leaves fros as ka stortord be fired. >> i believe that the majority of police officers do great work and they're heroes. so this person doesn't ever belong in that same sentence with the heroes that are doing the right kind of police work and keeping the public safe. >> the president of the city's police union defending frascatore saying he did a professional job under fluid circumstances. the mayor and commissioner bratton have apologized. no word if he's filing a lawsuit but he's calling on the city to start a fund for victims of false arrest. >> thanks a lot. >>> we remember the horrible deadly shooting that was caught on live television when the deranged lone gunman opened fire last month killing alison parker who wu see there and her camera man adam ward. now the sole sur

you know, officer frascatore might be upset about his desk now, but wait until he finds out there's room there for your mug of pencils and your action figures. to blake's credit, he realizes if he were not famous, this story would not be in the news, and he's using it as a chance to open a dialogue about the amount of force the police use in an arrest. it also reminds us all of us that identity theft is a dangerous business, not people stealing credit cards to buy stuff, just the fact that you might look like someone else who is also innocent. [ laughter ] identity." [ cheers and applause ] we'll be back with more "late night"! [ cheers and applause ] layover. 24 hours. oh, so that' s how you spell it. what are you looking at? oh, cool. hungry. fish, anyone? hello, seventh waterfall of the day. hello, duck boat. hello, sheep? oh right! itchy icelandic sweaters and no foreign transaction fees. sweet. one last look. ahh. triple points. and we' re off. what' s next? wherever the journey takes you, carry american express gold. it' s more than a card. it' s the gear that gets it done. how did

frascatore could be facing a third lawsuit considering this incident.with the attorney for james blake yesterday, kevin marino. i asked him if they were planning a civil suit perhaps against nypd. he told me we would have to wait and see, fred. >> back to the sting operation. what do we know about the details of the description of who they were looking for? >> right. the sting operation was focused on a group that was allegedly using fraudulent credit cards to buy cell phones. nypd has told us at least two witnesses pointed to james blake and indicated he was involved. nypd tells us they have a photo of a suspect that allegedly was involved in the ring. cnn has obtained that photo and, frankly, it bears a striking resemblance to james blake. but we should point out, it's a decoy in that photo that was apparently used by the ring to lead police astray. so we're not going to show that photo. obviously it would be inappropriate to show someone who is declared innocent of being part of the ring. we should also point out, in the nypd's investigation, they fo

. >> reporter: former tennis star james blake wants officer james frascatore grierksd he had his opportunity to have a badge and i don't think he should it examine after this incident. >> he body slammed plac in front of a new york hotel. some in law enforcement say the detention was inexcusably violent. blake originally thought the officer was a fan. >> i was so shaken up and so in shock that i was just-- i was just in cuffs and i was at their mercy which was extremely scary and i admitted that. i said,"look, i'm scared." >> new york police admit blake was erroneously detained. blake, who has no issue with being questioned by police, is deeply troubled with the force used, and even more, the public humiliation. >> being embarrassed in the middle of 42nd street is much more harmful than any little bruise i'll get. >> reporter: new york city police commissioner bill bratton said this was a case of mistaken identity. >> i don't believe at all that race was a factor. >> reporter: if the suspect was white and you were white, do you think he would have taken you down the same way? >> that's tough

james frascatore, the undercover officer, has had two previous excessive force lawsuits filed against. he's on modified duty. now the 59 seconds of video for everyone to see, a critical element in this case. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >>> when we come back, never forget. 14 years since the day that changed everything ♪ it's easy to love your laxative when that lax loves your body back. only miralax hydrates, eases and softens to unblock naturally, so you have peace of mind from start to finish. love your laxative. miralax. you can't breathed. through your nose. suddenly, you're a mouthbreather. a mouthbreather! how can anyone sleep like that? well, just put on a breathe right strip and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more than cold medicine alone. so you can breathe and sleep. shut your mouth and say goodnight mouthbreathers. breathe right i brought in some protein to help rearrange the fridge and get us energized! i'm new ensure active high protein. i help you recharge with nutritious energy and strength to keep you active. come on pear, it's only a half gallon. i'

james frascatore, the undercover officer, have had two previous excessive force lawsuits filed against him. he's on modified duty. now the 59 seconds of video for everyone to see, a critical element in this case. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >>> when we come back, never forget. 14 years since the day that changed everything. ===take vo=== we're following breaking news outside sacramento - a wildfire is threatening an entire town... hundreds of homes. =jess/take vo=== plus: the instagram video - causing controvery for san francisco police. =next close= the news is next. >>> none of us will ever forget where we were on this day in 2001 as the worst terrorist attack in the u.s. unfolded before our eyes. 14 years have passed since the events of 9/11, and today people all over the country paused to remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost. ♪ [ bells chiming ] every year we hear the names read out loud and it never gets any easier. >> steven paul chucknick. >> reporter: connor gavagan's father worked for cantor fitzgerald. we first told his story when he was born, one month after 9/11. now

. >> reporter: the undercover office james frascatore is on modified duty awaiting an investigation.was facing two pending excessive use lawsuits. >> when i was the person i was looking for i don't think the person they were looking for deserves to be treated the way i was treated. that's the bigger issue right now, correcting that kind of behavior. >> reporter: both new york mayor de blasio and police commissioner william bratton have personally apologized. is that enough? >> no. that's definitely not enough. i appreciate it. it's a nice gesture. >> reporter: in a statement the mayor and commissioner said the city has invested almost $29 million to retrain uniformed service members when dealing with the community. they have agreed to meet with blake who says he is considering a lawsuit. in that -- if that's what it takes to make a difference. >> it can happen to anyone. and we can't let that keep happening. >> reporter: kristin dahlgren, nbc news, new york. >>> we're back after the break. >> we want to remind you to keep it here for "press pass" with some of the biggest news makers.

the officer involved, james frascatore remains on modified duty without his badge and gun and that is until an internal investigation is complete. >>> meanwhile, the city council is calling for a way to identify over aggressive officers and have them retrained partly in response to the james blake case. the new legislation would require the police department to evaluate allegations of misconduct. special attention to officers who have prior complaints. >>> 4:49. officer thomas o'neill charged with hitting a motorcycle with his truck around taking off. o'neill turned himself in yesterday. he's suspended without pay. the motorcyclist was rushed to stoney brook hospital in critical condition. charged now in the hazing death of a baruch death. police say that ten members of the pi delta psy fraternity physically abused him and tried to cover it up. they face a series of charges including criminal charges. >>> the mta chairman tom prendegast made a statement yesterday. the city's committing to more than $650 million over five years but says it should pay over $3 billion. the mta commission

the arresting officer, james frascatore has had two previous excessive force lawsuits filed against him. he is now on desk duty. >>> the fairfax school system apologizing to a straight a senior for deleting his information. one parent excused her son, a senior at centreville high school from the first day of classes. he had a schedule college visit. when he returned to centreville the second day, he wasn't in the county's new student information system. and his class schedule was gone. >> being told that he might wait a week before he is in the system, that is a disadvantage. had we known, we probably would have adjusted plans. but this took us by surprise. >> it might take a week for her son's info to get back into the system. the school district says by regulation, students who miss the first day of class are marked as no-shows. it says it's working with the vendor now to make future improvements in the new computer system. >>> shining light in lower manhattan tonight. memorializing the lives lost 14 years ago today. the annual tribute in lights in the footprint of the world trade cen

frascatore, the undercover officer, has two pending excessive force lawsuits filed against him.9 seconds of video for everyone to see. a critical element in this case. for "today," rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >> that could not have happened to a nicer guy. class act. >> really. >>> now to a pretty amazing rest a cue story. a woman clinging after off the side of a mountain. she was stuck for two days before hikers found her. nbc's jacob rascon has more. >> reporter: the deep in the utah mountains concealed a struggle. several hundred feet down a cliff down brush and trees, a mangled car sat two days. 29-year-old heather blackwelder was inside. >> the first thing was if she is in pieces. let her be in one piece. >> reporter: spencer and his girlfriend were taking pictures of the scenery when they heard screaming. >> i was astonished. how have you been here for two days. >> reporter: heather was trapped and dehydrated and injured. spencer scaled down the mountain side. >> she kept telling me i'm sorry. thank you for coming. i told her, no worries. stay calm and i'm getting yo

. >> reporter: that officer, james frascatore. abc news learning that he's had four misconduct complaints. but an official says, only one was partially substantiated. >> i said, i'm scared. if i say something wrong, i'm sorry. but i think you have the wrong person. >> reporter: the nypd said it stems from a case of mistaken identity. in a credit card fraud investigation. police say blake looked like this man, seen on tmz sports. that man also turned out to be innocent, wrongly identified in that same investigation. >> you see the two photos together, the similarities are remarkable. >> reporter: new york city's police commissioner and mayor both personally apologizing. for the incident, saying those errors are being investigated. and, david, tonight, blake tells us what happened to him is not uncommon. and he's determined to use his voice as a catalyst for change in the relationship between police and the public, david. >> gio benitez, gio, thanks. >>> we'll turn to a possible break in the case in phoenix. where there have been fe

frascato frascatore, the undercover officer, has two pending excessive force lawsuits filed against himodified duty. now the 59 seconds of video for everyone to see, a critical element in this case. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. >>> straight ahead, the jeb bush tax reform plan. who would profit most from it? and we're monitoring events in boone, iowa, where donald trump is expected to hold a rally any minute now. so when my husband started getting better dental checkups than me, i decided to go pro... with crest pro-health advanced. my mouth is getting healthier. my teeth are getting stronger. this crest toothpaste is superior in five areas. great checkup. i work on the cheerios team. and when i found out that my daughter-in-law, joyce, can't eat gluten, we found a way to remove the grains that contain gluten, from the naturally gluten free oats that cheerios are made of. so now we can have cheerios together, anytime. i tried depend last weekend. it really made the difference between a morning around the house and getting a little exercise. only depend underwear has new confidence c

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retired tennis star james blake, has written about her son's being tackled by nypd officer james frascatoreideo footage shows like, who is biracial, standing outside manhattan's grand hyatt hotel when the officer approaches him, wraps an arm around his neck, tackles him down, digs his knee into his back, and handcuffs him. police say they mistakenly identified blake as a suspect in a credit card fraud probe. in an editorial for the "new york daily news," betty, who is white and grew up in england, wrote -- "it seems there's no end to racism in this country. in fact it seems to get worse." , and the legendary media activist everett parker died thursday at the age of 102. in the he led an effort to have 1960's, the license of a jackson, mississippi, tv station revoked for attempting to squelch the voices of the civil rights movement. at the time, parker was director of communications of the united church of christ. parker filed a petition to deny renewal with the fcc, initiating a process that eventually got the station's license revoked by a federal court and had far-reaching consequences in

. >> we know this officer, officer frascatore had several complaints and is a defendant in two lawsuitsrce against two individuals in new york city. those were filed, one of them in 2013. so two years, granted, they haven't been proven but he has been out on the street working these jobs. then after this case, he's on desk duty like that. >> right. >> why? because we're talking about it? >> of course. this video. >> well, there may be video in the other cases. i don't know. >> i'm sure -- >> is this because this was a famous person? >> i'm sure they are being investigated. maybe there's not enough -- you know, remember, this officer is allowed due process like everybody else. >> totally. >> okay? so the fact is of course, cnn, we are talking about it on cnn here and there's a video out there. this man is famous and yes, the video is clear that this officer did not act properly at all. >> this points to what james blake said in his interview with my colleague don lemon. that is how many times has this happened and no one talks about it. they are talking about it because i'm famous and be

also today, new and disturbing details about officer james frascatore. he's been placed on modified duty after wednesday's incident. nbc news has learned the officer has a history of force allegations including two federal civil rights lawsuits that are still open. that's in addition to five complaints in a seven-month period in 2013 according to station wnyc. police have this photograph of a man believed to be involved in the credit card fraud ring when they took down blake. that man, who commissioner bill bratton said could be blake's twin brother turned out to be innocent as well. joining me now is noel leader, a retired nypd sergeant and co-founder of 100 blacks in law enforcement who care. thanks for being here with us. >> thank you. >> let's look at the video again. tell me what you see happening. >> i see james blake standing by, evidently minding his business, when the officer, without identifying himself, with no identifying shield, approach him, grab him, throwing him on the ground, grabs him around the neck, mind you, and this is a against pol

in both cases, frascatore was accused of beating suspects and attempts to reach the officer were metresentative from the patrolman's benevolent association sdlined to comment on pending investigation but sfered a statement, saying quote.osfered a statement, sayi quote.fsfered a statement, sayi quote.fsfered a statement, sayi quote.isfered a statement, sayi quote.csfered a statement, sayi quote.esfered a statement, sayig quote.rsfered a statement, saying quote. a statement, sayi quote. >> what would you like to hear from him? >> an apology. >> it should not have happened. >> he defended the officer saying blake fit the description of a suspect, new york city police commissioner bill bratton ultimately apologized. >> i spoke to mr. blake on the phone. at this time, i see this as a case of excessive force, inappropriate force. >> reporter: the mayor of new york city bill de blasio attempting to make amends. >> i want to apologize to him on behalf of the city of new york city and this shouldn't have happened and he shouldn't have been treated this way. >> reporter: after the statement fr

the officer involved, james frascatore remains on modified duty without his badge and gun. that is until an internal investigation is complete. >>> at the same time the city council is proposing a bill to identify over aggressive officers and have them retrained. the new legislation would require the police department to evaluate allegations of misconduct. special attention given to officers with prior complaints. >> bail set at $25,000 for a new jersey police officer. linden office pedro abad had to be wheeled into court to plead not guilty to a 27 count indictment against him. his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. he slammed head on into a tractor-trailer and killing another officer and a third friend. a third passenger was critically injured. >>> three suspects are wanted in a flat tire scam that's going on in squeens. investigators say they punctured a woman's tire on parsons boulevard. it happened in jamaica last week. these men offered to help her change her tire. while she was distracted with all of that police say the third person, the woman, stol

abc news learning the identity of the police officer who tackled blake, james frascatore, an officerho according to wnyc radio has had five misconduct complaints against him in a seven-month stand. the nypd's police commissioner bill bratton says that after seeing security video of the arrest, he has stripped the officer in question of his gun and badge, placing him on desk duty. and now we're learning this morning that yet another person was arrested overnight. blake tells us he accepts the apology but won't be fully satisfied until the officers responsible are held accountable here. lots of questions still. >> boy, there sure are. thanks. >>> now to that former olympic athlete leading a remarkable double life. wife and mom at home, high-priced call girl in the hotels of las vegas. track star suzy favor hamilton is speaking out for the first time, "20/20" anchor elizabeth vargas here with her story. >> suzy favor hamilton was the golden girl who ran like the wind. nationally ranked in high school, recruited by 200 colleges to run she broke so many records and won so many titles they