Daniel Pantaleo, the NYPD officer who used a chokehold on Staten Island resident Eric Garner shortly before his death, has been sued twice within the past two years for alleged civil rights violations, according to SILive.com.
In the first suit, two men—Darren Collins and Tommy Rice—claimed that Pantaleo and other officers stopped and strip-searched them in a broad daylight while they were driving on a Staten Island street. The officers allegedly handcuffed Collins and Rice before pulling down their pants and underwear and searching their genital areas, according to the 2013 lawsuit. The suit was settled out of court with Collins and Rice each receiving $15,000 settlements from the city, their lawyer says.
The second case against Pantaleo, filed by Rylawn Walker in February this year, charges him and another officer with “falsely” arresting and imprisoning Walker. That lawsuit is still pending.
Like Garner, all three men mentioned in the lawsuits are people of color. Following Garner’s death and the release of video showing Pantaleo using the banned move on him, the officer has been stripped of his gun and badge.
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