No love for cop in suit vs. Blake

A federal judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by a police officer against former tennis star James Blake.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods tossed James Frascatore’s lawsuit Tuesday. The officer claimed that Blake has repeatedly defamed him following a 2015 Midtown encounter in which Frascatore tackled Blake after mistaking him for a burglary suspect.

Frascatore alleged Blake made nine statements to the media and in his book “Ways of Grace” that were intentionally wrong. In the book, for example, Blake suggested that the cop had dozens more complaints of excessive force against him. In another instance, he suggested Frascatore was racist.

“I think almost every person of color at some point in their life has been profiled, whether it be walking into a store or driving your car and you’re pulled over for no reason, or anything to that extent. So I have had instances like that, but never physical — physical violence like this,” Blake told “PBS NewsHour” on Sept. 19, 2017.

But Woods disagreed that Blake’s statements were defamatory.

“Frascatore failed to allege that Blake made any of the challenged statements in a grossly irresponsible manner,” Woods wrote in his decision filed Tuesday.

“Second, Frascatore failed to allege that seven out of the nine statements were false. For those two reasons, and for multiple reasons specific to each individual statement, Frascatore’s defamation claim is dismissed.”

Blake’s lawyer Kevin Marino was pleased. “We are gratified that the court rejected this frivolous, blame-the-victim lawsuit in all respects,” he said.