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Man Who Filmed Eric Garner's Death Arrested For Allegedly Choking Wife
By
Emma Whitford
Published Feb 22, 2016
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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By
Emma Whitford
Published Feb 22, 2016
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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Twenty-four-year-old Ramsey Orta, who filmed NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo putting Staten Island man Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold in July 2014, was arrested on Friday after allegedly menacing his wife with a knife and choking her during a domestic dispute.
In the days since Orta's arrest, his wife Jessica Orta has launched an online campaign to raise bail money for Orta, and posted a video statement in her husband's defense, arguing that Orta has been "harassed" by the NYPD since publicizing the video of Garner's death, and that the February incident had been blown out of proportion.
The video statement, posted publicly on Youtube, was made private this morning.
A spokeswoman for the NYPD said that the department received a call about a domestic dispute in the Baruch Houses on the Lower East Side around 10:00 a.m. on February 13th. According to the criminal complaint, Orta and his wife got into an argument that morning inside their apartment. Police say Jessica began packing to leave, and Orta responded by throwing the contents of her suitcase around the room. He allegedly swiped items off of her dresser, and tossed an empty shampoo bottle, striking Jessica's 2-year-old son in the forehead.
Orta then displayed a knife, allegedly threatened to kill Jessica, and began stabbing at a banner in the bedroom, shredding it. He then allegedly choked her. According to the complaint, Orta wouldn't let his wife leave until she went to an ATM and took out money that he had allegedly lent her for parking tickets. Orta fled, and was arrested in the Bronx around 2:30 p.m. on Friday.
"Everybody knows that Ramsey and I had somewhat of a whirlwind romance and we got married very quickly. And any relationship that happened like that there are bound to be issues," said Jessica Orta in her video statement. "However it has gotten to the point where NYPD has escalated it past any reasonable level.... [Ramsey's] been under extreme attack by NYPD and he's been harassed in various forms and that hasn't stopped."
Orta's February 19th arrest marks the fourth time the cell-phone videographer has been arrested since his footage sparked global condemnation of the NYPD. First in August 2014 for possession of a firearm, then in February 2015 for allegedly selling drugs to undercover officers, and finally in June 2015 for allegedly selling MDMA to an undercover NYPD officer on the Lower East Side.
The February 2015 arrest landed Orta on Rikers for two months, while his family and friends crowdsourced the full $16,250 necessary for bail. Even after he posted bail, Staten Island DA Daniel Donovan attempted to block Orta's release by requesting a bail source hearing. After the July arrest, the supposed MDMA was tested, and deemed fake. Orta was initially charged with felony drug sale and possession for the June incident, and was held at Rikers on $15,000 bond, or $7,500 cash. After the drugs tested benign, Orta's lawyers were able to negotiate the bail down to $8,000 bond, $1,300 cash.
Orta was arraigned on Saturday, and charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; second-degree menacing; attempted robbery; acting in a manor injurious to a child under 17, and criminal obstruction of breathing, according to court records. He is currently being held on $10,000 bail, and is scheduled to appear before a federal grand jury on February 25th.
Reached for comment, Orta's attorney William Aronin declined to speak on the details of the case. However, he stressed that Orta's wife had spoken for herself since the arrest (she has since acquired her own attorney).
As of this writing, Jessica Orta's bail fund campaign has exceeded its $2,400 goal.
Last month, Orta's supporters held a fundraiser at an art gallery in Staten Island. Their goal is to raise enough money to purchase a video camera for Orta, so that he can document his alleged harassment at the hands of the NYPD.
In a Youtube video produced by WeCopwatch for the fundraising campaign, Orta addresses his supporters in a bright red hoodie.
"I've been dealing with the police way before Eric Garner and his situation," he says. "Filming the Eric Garner death has changed my life in a major way. Both positive and negative, but mainly negative because I'm dealing with legal situations and harassment. Since then I've been trying to lay low."
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Ramsey Orta
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Emma Whitford
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