What you should know
- Jordan Neely, 30, died on a train at the Broadway-Lafayette station in Manhattan on Monday after allegedly threatening passengers and being choked by a passenger. That passenger was questioned by the NYPD and later released from custody.
- The medical examiner’s office ruled Neely’s death a homicide, prompting a debate over whether the cyclist’s actions were justified defense or surveillance. He and his attorney have declined to comment.
- A senior prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office is investigating the case, sources say, and the NYPD is asking for help from anyone with footage or footage of what led up to Neely’s death.
NEW YORK — More protests are expected this Friday over the subway strangulation death of Jordan Neely, as pressure mounts on the Manhattan district attorney’s office to file charges in the case, sparking debate about whether the passenger who allegedly knocked him down acted in just defense at the time or criminally.
Neely, a homeless person, had been threatening passengers aboard a train at the Broadway-Lafayette station Monday afternoon, according to the New York Police. A 24-year-old passenger intervened and applied a chokehold to Neely. He was questioned by the New York Police and later released. The medical examiner’s office later ruled the case a homicide.
No charges have been filed in the case at this time. Police and prosecutors say they are still working to determine what happened before Neely, who was 30, died. A senior prosecutor was said to be looking into the matter, and Gov. Kathy Hochul said a day ago that she was pleased the district attorney’s office was looking into the case.
Amid the ongoing investigation, the case has prompted calls for the 24-year-old, initially hailed as a good Samaritan for intervening, to be arrested in the death of Neely, who suffered from mental health problems. A GoFundMe set up by an aunt to pay for funeral expenses raised more than $36,000 as of Friday morning, less than 24 hours after it was posted.
Neely’s family has retained legal representation with Mills & Edwards LLP.
“I took this case because 15 minutes is too long without help, without intervention and without air. Passengers are not supposed to die on the floor of our subway trains,” attorney Lennon Edward said in a statement. “We understand that our current times have created a heightened sense of fear (sometimes reasonable, sometimes not). However, there must be a clear line of when deadly force can be used by anyone, including civilians.”
Attorney Donte Mills, who also represents the Neely family, says the 24-year-old crossed the line in this case.
“There are people who die from ringing the wrong bell, entering the wrong entrance and screaming in despair on the subway. We can’t let that continue,” Mills said. “Mr. Neely suffered from mental illness that began at the age of 14 when he experienced the brutal murder of his mother. It is a tragedy for all of us to learn that Jordan Neely’s life was also cut short. Mills & Edwards is committed to holding accountable the MTA and Neely’s Killer”.
In the absence of a video showing what might have precipitated the attack, many reserved their opinion.
Mayor Eric Adams said earlier in the week there were too many unknowns to judge the passenger’s behavior at this point and he echoed those sentiments Thursday, saying he has “a responsibility for this whole city and I have faith in the justice system.” penalty, and I’m going to let the process take place.
The 24-year-old passenger has repeatedly declined requests for comment. His attorney also declined to comment. Several reports indicated that he is a former Marine, which a former New York City prosecutor says could hurt a self-defense claim.
Navy recruits are routinely taught how to execute and defend against chokeholds, which can render someone unconscious in as little as eight seconds, according to a 2020 revised military manual.
The NYPD tweeted a statement Thursday asking for the public’s assistance in the ongoing investigation.
“We need your help regarding an incident that occurred on Monday, May 1, 2023 at the Broadway-Lafayette Street Subway Station. Anyone with information, photos, or video is asked to contact @NYPDTips or call 1 (800) 577- TIPS,” the NYPD tweet read.
Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said Neely had a long criminal record, with charges including assault and disorderly conduct. Those who knew him described him as a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine recalled seeing Neely perform many times. Levine said that he always made people smile.
Timeline of Jordan Neely’s death
NYPD said he was called to the NoHo station around 2:25 p.m. Monday after a report of a physical fight on a northbound F line train.
Witnesses and police sources said that Neely got on the train and began to act very aggressively towards other passengers, threatening to harm them. Police sources told our sister chain NBC New York that Neely told the passengers on the train that she wanted food, that she would not take no for an answer, and that she would hurt anyone on the train.
“The man got on the subway car and began to make a somewhat aggressive speech, saying that he was hungry, that he was thirsty, that he didn’t care about anything, that he didn’t care about going to jail, that he didn’t care about being given a big blow. life imprisonment,” said Juan Alberto Vázquez, who was in the subway car and was recording part of what happened next. “That ‘It doesn’t even matter if I died.’”
Vázquez said he was scared and believes others on the train were too. That’s when a 24-year-old subway passenger approached Neely from behind and allegedly applied a chokehold, pinning him to the ground. Two other men stood over them and also helped subdue him, video showed.
“If there was fear, the people who… were there where he separated everything, moved from their place. I stayed sitting in my place because it was a little further away, but obviously in those moments, well, one feels afraid. One thinks that he may be armed,” Vázquez said.
Vázquez said the strangulation lasted about 15 minutes while they waited for police to respond, and continued even as the train stopped at the subway station and the doors opened. That’s when Vazquez said most of the people inside the train car left, with a few exceptions, including the three who had been working to subdue Neely.
It was not clear why the passengers had moved to grab Neely. A witness, Vazquez, who was on the train and recorded Neely losing consciousness while being held, said that although Neely was acting aggressive and threw his jacket at him, he had not attacked anyone.
Neely was unconscious on the subway floor when officers arrived and died at the scene.
Here the details.
Vázquez said no one thought the man would die, even after he ran out of strength.
Adams has said the incident underscores what he says is the need to get mentally ill people out of the transit system, a push that began with fellow Democrat Hochul in the early days of his administration.
The governor’s office said crews Safe Option Support (SOS) in the metro have conducted more than 6,800 outreach meetings and have enrolled 838 people in intervention services.
The lethal risks of chokeholds led New York City to ban police officers from using them. An officer has been fired for choking Eric Garner, a black New Yorker whose last words “I can’t breathe” became a chant at protests against racial injustice.
A US Department of Justice website called chokeholds “inherently dangerous” and said they “have too often led to tragedy.”
They found him at an address 11 miles from the site of the massacre.
2023-05-05 14:01:41
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