Eric Garner – Man Who Filmed Arrest Has Been Released From Prison

Eric Garner – Man Who Filmed Arrest Has Been Released From Prison

The man behind one of the original cases that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement is finally seeing his own freedom. New York native Eric Garner was choked by police while being arrested for selling loose cigarettes on the street, leading to his tragic death. He called out, “I can’t breathe,” several times before he succumbed to the choking – causing nationwide outrage and investigation into police practices. Ramsey Orta filmed the now-viral incident and was just recently released from prison.

Both Ramsey Orta’s fiancée Deja Richardson and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision spokesperson have confirmed that Ramsey was released on May 28th from his drug and weapon possessions sentence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Years ago, Ramsey sued the NYPD for harassment after he claimed he was repeatedly arrested and taunted due to the widespread video of Eric Garner’s murder.

Ramsey once expressed regret in filming the video and said,

“It just put me in a messed up predicament.”

A GoFundMe campaign was started by his fiancée last fall and has since surpassed its $200,000 goal.

Daniel Pantaleo, the officer responsible for Eric Garner’s death, was terminated without pension in August of 2019. Ramsey Orta’s sentence is officially over on July 11th with court supervision until 2022.

What are your thoughts on his release? Let us know in the comments.