Blake officer sues pro, city

THE OFFICER who tackled retired tennis pro James Blake says he’s being unfairly tarred as a racist, corrupt cop, and he’s now suing the city, the NYPD and the athlete in federal court.

In a defamation lawsuit filed Monday, James Frascatore said he “has been cast as a racist and a goon” after slamming Blake to the ground in front of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in a case of mistaken identity in 2015.

Frascatore (photo) says the tennis star essentially labeled him a racist in the foreword of his book, “Ways of Grace,” and as part of his publicity tour.

He’s also suing the Civilian Complaint Review Board, its former executive director, Tracy Catapano-Fox, and HarperCollins, which is publishing Blake’s book.

“James Blake, the police department, the mayor and the activist community have defined the narrative over the past two years,” Frascatore’s lawyer, Peter Brill said. “Mr. Blake is transitioning from claiming this was excessive force to claiming that Officer Frascatore is a racist — coincidentally, around the same time he’s trying to sell his book.”

Frascatore awaits the results of a departmental trial, and faces a loss of vacation days for abuse of force in taking down Blake, who he thought was a suspect in a credit card scheme.

Then-Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor de Blasio apologized to Blake, and set up a fellowship in his name to help those who report police misconduct to the CCRB. Blake’s lawyer, Kevin Marino, scoffed at the idea that the tennis pro defamed Frascatore.

“Mr. Blake will respond to this attack on his character with the same grace and dignity that has characterized the attack on his person,” he said.