Online Fundraiser for Former NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo Collects $170K

In the span of just a few months, an online fundraiser for Daniel Pantaleo—who was publicly fired by NYPD Police Commissioner James O'Neill in August—has raised more than double Pantaleo's annual salary.

According to the New York Post , Pantaleo earned just over $85,000 per year, and the GoFundMe page launched the day after he was fired has garnered more than $170,000.

Pantaleo—a 13-year veteran of the police force—was accused in the 2014 death of Eric Garner and fired after the commissioner determined that Pantaleo "can no longer effectively serve as a New York City police officer."

Pantaleo subsequently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit Wednesday seeking reinstatement.

The lawsuit says that Pantaleo’s termination following an administrative trial was "arbitrary and capricious."