Ramsey Orta, the man who shot video of New York Police Department placing an illegal chokehold on a man who subsequently died, was arrested Saturday night and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, according to
WNBC-TV.
Plainclothes officers detained the 22-year old after he was witnessed allegedly attempting to hide a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun in the waistband of a 17-year-old girl on a street. The arrest took place in the same area as the fatal July 17 confrontation that led to the death of Eric Garner.
Orta had a previous weapon conviction that prohibited him from possessing a firearm, according to WNBC.
The
video taken by Orta shows police officers attempting to arrest Garner for selling loose cigarettes on a Staten Island street by placing him in a chokehold and pushing him to the ground. He is heard screaming, "I can't breathe!" He died shortly after the video was taken.
The city's medical examiner issued a report on Aug. 1 confirming the chokehold contributed to Garner's death.
According to the
New York Post, almost immediately after he was arrested, Orta pleaded with someone to contact Al Sharpton, the head of the National Action Network and an MSNBC host.
"I got arrested. Call Al Sharpton right away!" Orta said, according to sources who spoke with the paper.
While Orta's wife told the Post he did call for Sharpton, the controversial civil rights activist denied he had spoken with Orta during a news conference on Sunday.
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