NEW YORK (AP) — New York attorney Sanford Rubenstein will no longer represent the family of Eric Garner, the Staten Island man who died after being placed in a chokehold.
His law partner announced Wednesday that Rubenstein does not want a woman’s claims that he raped her to distract from the Garner case.
Rubenstein has neither been charged nor arrested. He denies any criminal conduct.
His law partner, Scott Rynecki, says Rubenstein’s withdrawal from the case allows the Garner family to push forward for accountability and their day in court.
Garner’s family is suing the NYPD for $75 million after a video showed the 43-year-old being choked by an officer while being arrested for selling loose cigarettes in July.
Rynecki is replacing Rubenstein in the case.
