Sandy MaloneNew York, NY – Manhattan prosecutors are investigating the death of a homeless man who was placed in a chokehold by another passenger on Monday after the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
The incident occurred on May 1 on a New York City Subway F Train in Manhattan after 30-year-old Jordan Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator, started pacing and yelling, WABC reported.
Witnesses told CNN that Neely was behaving erratically and ranting about being “fed up and hungry” and “tired of having nothing.”
Juan Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist who was on the subway train, said that Neely took off his coat, threw it on the floor of the train, and announced that he was ready to go to jail and get a life sentence.
Vazquez said most passengers started moving away from Neely but after the angry man started throwing things at other passengers, three people stepped up to restrain him, CNN reported.
More facts that have to be suppressed in Operation Bum Floyd, video:
[Jordan Neely]…"started threatening riders and saying 'I'm ready to go back to jail' and 'I'll hurt anyone.'"
Threaten people and have 40 prior arrests, people will defend themselves from hostile behavior. pic.twitter.com/NDwwrRku8K
— James Lindsay, Darth Lindsay (@ConceptualJames) May 4, 2023
He said one passenger approached Neely from behind and put him in a choke hold while two others helped take him down.
Vazquez said he started filming the incident a few minutes after it started.
The video showed Neely on the floor of the train car with another passenger’s arm around his neck, holding him down.
Vazquez said that after a while he observed that Neely had stopped talking and moving, CNN reported.
The video showed that Neely was held around the neck for two minutes and 55 seconds, BBC News reported.
New York Police Department (NYPD) officers responded to the downtown Manhattan subway station at about 2:30 p.m. and found Neely unconscious.
He was transported to Lenox Hill Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to CNN.
Law enforcement sources said Neely had been arrested 42 times in New York City on charges that included petit larceny, jumping subway turnstiles, theft, and three unprovoked assaults on women in the subway between 2019 and 2021.
Video originally posted to https://t.co/vDzD1x1UI4 on May 1 showing Jordan Neely being held in a chokehold for close to four minutes.
Not 15 minutes.
The video does not show how the incident began.
Once he stopped struggling, he was released.
If you witness a scene like this,… pic.twitter.com/Zpva0XLNZb
— Crime in NYC (@CrimeInNYC) May 4, 2023
The man who put Neely in the chokehold has been identified as a 24-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Queens, CNN reported.
Law enforcement sources said the veteran has no criminal record.
He was interviewed by police at the scene and released, according to CNN.
Police said other passengers corroborated the man’s story, including the fact that he asked them to call 911 as he attempted to restrain Neely, WABC reported.
On May 3, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide and said that Neely had died due to “compression of neck (chokehold),” CNN reported.
Activists immediately called for the 24 year old to be charged with Neely’s murder and started protesting.
#HappeningNow Clashes with NYPD as protest was held for Jordan Neely, a man who was choked and killed by a subway rider in NYC on Monday.
Neely was placed in a choke hold by passenger "while acting erratically" and died on a train📹 by Ken Lopez [email protected] to license pic.twitter.com/pklQLyOAub
— FreedomNews.Tv FNTV (@FreedomNTV) May 3, 2023
A protest on a downtown Manhattan over the death of a man suffering an apparent mental health episode aboard a train turned into an angry confrontation over policing and social welfare priorities in New York City on Wednesday.
Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old unhoused man who had at… pic.twitter.com/b69nN3gz8q
— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) May 4, 2023
Prosecutors said they were still investigating and had not yet made any decisions on charges, CNN reported.
“This is a solemn and serious matter that ended in the tragic loss of Jordan Neely’s life,” Manhattan District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Doug Cohen said in a statement. “As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records.”
“This investigation is being handled by senior, experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is additional public information to share,” Cohen added.
Holly Matkin
