NEW YORK — A man who shot a video of a fatal police chokehold has been arrested on a gun charge, police said Sunday.
Ramsey Orta, 22, was arrested Saturday night on Staten Island on a charge of criminal possession of a firearm, police said. The unloaded semiautomatic weapon recovered from Orta was reported stolen in Michigan in 2007, police said.
Orta is in a hospital being treated for a medical condition. It was not clear whether he had a lawyer.
Orta shot the video of an officer using a chokehold to restrain Eric Garner on July 17. Garner died shortly after.
The death sparked an outcry against the police.
The New York City medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, saying Garner was killed by neck compressions from the chokehold and ‘‘the compression of his chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.’’
Asthma, heart disease, and obesity were contributing factors in the death of the 43-year-old Garner, a 6-foot-3, 350-pound father of six.
Garner’s widow, Esaw, and the Rev. Al Sharpton have called for an arrest in his death.
The confrontation between the white police officer who used the chokehold, Daniel Pantaleo, and Garner, who is black, prompted calls by Sharpton for a federal civil rights investigation.
Chokeholds are prohibited by the NYPD, but partial video of the confrontation shows the officer placing a chokehold on Garner, who was being arrested on suspicion of selling untaxed, loose cigarettes.