The New York police officer who held Eric Garner in the chokehold that killed him has been sued three times for allegedly violating the constitutional rights of other blacks he and fellow cops arrested.

A 2013 federal court lawsuit alleges that Daniel Pantaleo, 29, and at least four other officers subjected Darren Collins and Tommy Rice to 'humiliating and unlawful strip searches in public view'.

Collins and Rice were handcuffed and searched for drugs after being arrested on Staten Island in March 2012. Charges against the two men were ultimately dismissed.

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Eric Garner's death pushed politicians to talk about the need for better police training, body cameras and changes in the grand jury process to restore faith in the legal system

According to USA Today, a court complaint charged that the officers 'pulled down the plaintiffs' pants and underwear, and touched and searched their genital areas, or stood by while this was done in their presence'.

Collins, 46, and Rice, 43, said Pantaleo 'slapped' and 'tapped' their testicles in broad daylight.

The officers denied the charges, insisting they acted reasonably and exercised their discretion, but the lawsuit was settled last year for $30,000.

In a separate incident, Rylawn Walker alleged that Pantaleo and other officers falsely arrested him on Staten Island for marijuana possession in February 2012.

The federal lawsuit against the officers maintained that Walker 'was committing no crime at that time and was not acting in a suspicious manner'. The charges against Walker were later dismissed.

In an August 2014 letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, Walker's defense lawyer Michael Colihan wrote: 'To put it mildly, many police on Staten Island have been playing fast, loose and violently with the public they seem to have forgotten they are sworn to protect.

In an incident caught on camera, Pantaleo was seen placing Garner (pictured), a 43-year-old father, in a chokehold in the street and ignoring his cries that he could not breathe. Garner later died in hospital

'After litigating about 200 of these civil rights matters in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York since 1977, I have seen no interest by the managers of the New York City Police Department, or anyone employed by the city of New York, in doing anything to stop this.'

A third incident involved 22-year-old Kenneth Collins, from Staten Island, who filed a lawsuit alleging that Pantaleo and other officers violated his rights during a February 2012 marijuana arrest.

He claimed he had been falsely arrested and 'was subjected to a degrading search of his private parts and genitals by the defendants'.

On Wednesday, authorities announced that a Staten Island grand jury had decided not to indict Pantaleo for his role in Eric Garner's death last July.

In an incident caught on camera, Pantaleo was seen placing Garner, a 43-year-old father, in a chokehold in the street and ignoring his cries that he could not breathe. Garner later died in hospital.

A video shows the aftermath of the chokehold where Garner lies on the floor in cuffs. He had told police 11 times that he could not breathe after they jumped on him when he was found selling untaxed cigarettes

Pantaleo had been stripped of his gun and badge and will remain on desk duty pending an internal police investigation that could result in administrative charges.

In his statement on Wednesday, he said: 'It is never my intention to harm anyone and I feel very bad about the death of Mr Garner...I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss.'

But Garner's widow Esaw Snipes-Garner, 46, has refused to accept the apology and said it came as no surprise that Pantaleo was not indicted.

Eric Garner's widow Esaw Snipes-Garner, 46, has refused to accept Palenteo's apology and said it came as no surprise that he was not indicted

Speaking on the Today show on Thursday morning, she said: 'The time to apologize or have any remorse would have been when my husband was screaming and he couldn't breathe.

'Honestly, I think from the beginning I had no faith in Staten Island prosecuting anybody from Staten Island.'

'I felt no remorse, I felt no compassion, no anything from Staten Island - besides the people on Staten Island. As far as the police and the DA - there was no sincerity in his eyes form day one.'

The decision not to indict Pantaleo sparked protests across New York City and nationwide, with demonstrators turning out in such cities as Denver, Detroit and Minneapolis.

It has also pushed politicians to talk about the need for better police training, body cameras and changes in the grand jury process to restore faith in the legal system.

At a news conference in New York after a night of protests led to 83 arrests, the Rev. Al Sharpton called the state-level grand jury system 'broken' when it comes to police brutality cases and urged federal authorities to fix it.

'The federal government must do in the 21st century what it did in the mid-20th century,' he said. 'Federal intervention must come now and protect people from state grand juries.'