Officer at center of Eric Garner case has been sued several times before

NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, the cop at the center of the Eric Garner case, has a trail of civil rights cases against him.

PIX11 has learned Pantaleo was named in at least four lawsuits filed against the city, two of the cases settled for an undetermined amount of money.

In one case, Tommy Rice claimed Pantaleo strip searched him out in public.

Rice was the passenger of a car that Pantaleo and several officers from the 120th Precinct pulled over.

Police say the driver of the car had drugs in his pocket but Rice was also charged with selling illegal drugs. Those charges were later dismissed.

Rice told PIX11 exclusively how Pantaleo allegedly violated his civil rights.

“He pulled my belt and my pants dropped, then he pulled down my boxers and hit my testicles twice,” Rice said.

Two other men allege Pantaleo arrested them during a search warrant execution. The attorney for the men said his clients were falsely arrested and the District Attorney’s office dropped their case immediately as well.

Since the Eric Garner case, PBA President Pat Lynch has said Panteleo is a good cop.

The officer is still going through departmental review and could face federal and civil charges.

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