STATEN ISLAND — The officer involved in the death of Eric Garner has 24-hour police protection in front of his home because of death threats he's received, the New York Daily News reported.
According to an affidavit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Daniel Pantaleo wrote he has two officers stationed outside his Great Kills home, surveillance cameras installed and a panic button inside in case of emergencies, the News reported.
Pantaleo, 30, filed the affidavit to argue against the release of his Civilian Complaint Review Board record to the Legal Aid Society, which filed a suit in February to force the disclosure.
In the documents, Pantaleo complained CCRB records already released on him have caused him harassment, embarrassment and led to a Michigan man being charged early in February for threatening to behead him, the News reported.
Pantaleo was caught on video arresting Garner, 43, last year outside a Tompkinsville street for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes. Dramatic video shows Pantaleo put Garner in a choke hold and wrestled him to the ground as the asthmatic father of six pleads multiple times "I can't breathe."
The medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide due to compression of the neck and in December a grand jury ruled not to indict Pantaleo for Garner's death.
Aside from the CCRB complaints, the Legal Aid Society and several other groups have pushed courts to release testimony from the grand jury proceedings.
The release was denied by Judge William Garnett in a Staten Island court but the parties went in front of an appellate court to fight the decision on Tuesday.
