NYPD Officer Who Fatally Choked Eric Garner Wasn't Indicted, Man Who Filmed the Incident Was
NYPD Officer Who Fatally Choked Eric Garner Wasn't Indicted, Man Who Filmed the Incident Was
On the same day one grand
jury decided not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric
Garner, an unarmed black man who was killed after being put in a
chokehold last July, a different jury did indict 22-year-old Ramsey Orta, the man who captured Garner's death on camera.
Orta was charged with weapon
possession after being arrested on Aug. 2, less than one month after
taping Garner's confrontation with police. As seen in Orta's video,
several NYPD officers confront Garner on the street for allegedly
selling loose cigarettes. They're then seen bringing Garner to the
ground, as Pantaleo places Garner in a chokehold.
“When they searched me, they
didn't find nothing on me,” Orta said after his arrest. “And the same
cop that searched me, he told me clearly himself, that karma's a bitch,
what goes around comes around.”
He added later: “I had nothing to do with this. I would be stupid to walk around with a gun after me being in the spotlight.”
Police allege Orta attempted to
hide an unloaded .25 caliber handgun in the waistband of 17-year-old
Alba Lekaj, outside of the Hotel Richmond. Lekaj was not indicted on gun
charges.
Despite Orta's claims and a not
guilty plea, a Staten Island grand jury indicted him Wednesday with
single felony counts of third-degree criminal weapon possession and
criminal firearm possession.
Orta is also accused of misdemeanor weapon
possession and has two cases currently pending — one for accused robbery
and the other for allegedly punching a man collecting bottles outside
of his home.
“I'm just worried about my
husband and getting out the truth and making sure justice is served for
Eric Garner and my husband, ” Ortiz said.
