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Behind the Video of Eric Garner’s Deadly Confrontation With New York Police

3 minute read

Updated July 23, 2014

On July 17, Ramsey Orta was talking to his friend, Eric Garner, about where to eat dinner — Friday’s, maybe, or Applebee’s. They eventually decided on Buffalo Wild Wings, but Garner never made it. Soon, a fight broke out nearby, Orta says, and after Garner helped break it up, New York Police Department officers on the scene accused Garner of selling untaxed cigarettes and attempted to arrest him.

Garner, a 43-year-old father of six who was unarmed at the time, argued with the officers about why he was being targeted. To corral Garner, one officer used what appeared to be a chokehold, a technique banned by the NYPD. Several others helped drag him to the ground. Garner, who had a history of health problems, died soon after.

Orta recorded the incident on his phone and the video has helped turn the fatal encounter from a local tragedy into a national debate over the use of force by police. Orta, 22, says he’s known Garner for several years and called him “the neighborhood dad.” Orta’s video shows what appears to be one officer pressing Garner’s face into the sidewalk as other officers attempt to subdue him. On the ground, Garner can be heard repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe.”

“I felt like they treated him wrong even after the fact that they had him contained,” Orta says.

Since Orta’s video became public after being published by the New York Daily News, the officer who grabbed Garner by the neck, Daniel Pantaleo, was ordered to turn in his badge and gun; another was reassigned to desk duty. The four emergency medical workers who responded to the scene have also been suspended without pay. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was “very troubled” by the footage, and both prosecutors and the NYPD are investigating the incident.

Patrick J. Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, criticized the department’s response as “a completely unwarranted, kneejerk reaction for political reasons and nothing more.”

Orta recorded another violent arrest at the same location in Staten Island a week earlier. He says officers have harassed him since the Garner video became public, but he says he isn’t likely to put his camera away if something happens in his Staten Island neighborhood again.

“It just gives me more power to not be afraid to pull out my camera anytime,” he says. “Even if they’re pushing me back, I might just like keep going forward and if I get arrested, hey, I got something on camera.”

Video reported by Paul Moakley, edited by Raymond Chu

Read next: No Charges for Officer Who Put Eric Garner in Deadly Chokehold

Witness Protesters Taking Over the Streets After the Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision

Police Chokehold Death
A group of protesters rally against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner occupy the eastbound traffic lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2014.Jason DeCrow—AP
People Protest No Indictment in Eric Garner Chokehold Case
Protestors block 15th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue to protest the Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in the Eric Garner chokehold case in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014.Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA
Grand Jury Declines To Indict NYPD Officer In Eric Garner Death
Demonstrators march through the streets of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Andrew Burton—Getty Images
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Regina Bates speaks during a demonstration in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 3, 2014. Elijah Nouvelage—Getty Images
Police stand guard on the West Side highway as protesters block traffic after the jury verdict in the death of Eric Garner in New York
Police stand guard on the West Side highway as protesters block traffic in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters
Demonstrators Gather In Philadelphia To Protest Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision
Anwar Thurston, 36, joined demonstrators who gathered to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014.Mark Makela—Getty Images
BESTPIX - Demonstrators Gather In Philadelphia To Protest Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision
A demonstrator cries while gathering to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014.Mark Makela—Getty Images
Protests Erupt Across Country After Grand Jury Does Not Indict NYPD Officer Over Chokehold Death
Demonstrators block traffic on Highway I-395 in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Getty Images
US-ERIC-GARNER-PROTEST
Protestors lay down in Grand Central Station during a protest in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014.Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images
People take part in a protest against the grand jury decision on the death of Eric Garner in midtown Manhattan in New York
People take part in a protest against the grand jury decision on the death of Eric Garner in midtown Manhattan in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Eric Thayer—Reuters
NYC reacts to Eric Garner Grand Jury decision
Protesters raise their arms and chant at police officers in Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Caitlin Ochs—Polaris
US-CRIME-POLICE-RACE-UNREST
Demonstrators march in protest on the streets of St. Louis on Dec. 3, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images
Police Chokehold Death
Police officers block protesters from marching up a highway entrance ramp near Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Seth Wenig—AP
A man holding a child walks past protesters demanding justice for the death of Eric Garner in Manhattan
A man holding a child walks with protesters as they march past Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Adrees Latif—Reuters
People Protest over no indictment in Eric Garner's chokehold case in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta Police face off with protesters blocking Spring Street in Atlanta on Dec. 3, 2014. Erik S. Lesser—EPA
A demonstrator stands next to makeshift memorial where Eric Garner died during arrest in July in Staten Island borough of New York
A demonstrator stands next to a makeshift memorial where Eric Garner died during an arrest in July in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters

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