American Trial: the Eric Garner Story is a 2019 unscripted
narrative film directed by
Roee Messinger. The film shows the trial that could have happened following the
killing of Eric Garner at the hands of the police in the infamous
police brutality case that took place in
Staten Island, New York on July 17, 2014.[1] Daniel Pantaleo, the policeman that held Eric Garner in what proved to be a lethal
chokehold was never prosecuted for any crime.
The film shows the trial that could have followed Garner's death if the New York City
Grand Jury had decided to prosecute the police officer. Messinger used the real witnesses who would have testified had the case been tried, including an
eye witness,
forensic pathologists and police use of force experts as well as real
criminal attorneys.