The Staten Island District Attorney's Office on Friday said that releasing grand jury records in the closely watched Eric Garner chokehold case could put witnesses at risk.

Pushing back on motions to unveil the secret proceedings that led to no charges against a New York police officer, the office of District Attorney Daniel Donovan Jr. argued that any proposed redactions would fail to hide witness identities in their local communities—especially in a high-profile case containing video recordings of Garner's death.

Even with redactions, witness testimony “would then be the subject of scrutiny by those close to them, with the inevitable result of harassment or retaliation,” the prosecution wrote Jan. 2 in court papers that opposed disclosure bids from the Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James and the New York Post.