A grand jury in Staten Island, New York, indicted Ramsey Orta on Wednesday on felony charges of third-degree criminal firearms and weapons possession. Orta, 22, was the bystander who recorded the chokeholding death of 43-year-old Eric Garner by Officer Daniel Pantaleo. Pantaleo was not indicted for his actions.
Orta was accused of placing a gun on a teenager in front of a hotel. He claims the charges were false and only brought against him because he filmed the Garner incident. He stated that it would have been “stupid” for him to have been carrying a gun at the time, and he had nothing to do with it. A medical examiner said Garner’s death was the result of a chokehold, a restraint technique that has been banned by the NYPD for over 20 years.
Orta had charges of assault and robbery against him when the indictment was handed down. In addition, Orta’s wife, Chrissie Ortiz, 30, has been charged with misdemeanor assault for an alleged attack on another woman. Ortiz said the gun charge against her husband is nonsense.
Ortiz stated the authorities are looking for any reason to quiet Orta, when they should really be focusing on Officer Pantaleo’s actions.