Fury builds over death of a homeless man in the New York Subway allegedly by a fellow passenger
Tensions are mounting in New York after a Michael Jackson impersonator was choked to death on a train allegedly by another passenger.
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There is increasing uproar over the death of a homeless man and former Michael Jackson impersonator on New York’s Subway system who was allegedly held in a chokehold for 15 minutes by a train passenger after he began acting erratically.
The death of Jordan Neely has now been ruled a homicide yet the alleged killer was released without any charges being laid – at least for now.
Mr Neely has been remembered by a freind as a “sweet kid”. He was also a petty criminal and struggled with homelessness and mental health issues, particularly after the murder of his mother when he was a teenager.
Protests occurred on Thursday in New York with the death leading to a furious war of words. There are those who have claimed he was killed by a “vigilante without consequence” while others say the situation was more “complicated” and some Subway riders reacted because they may have been fearful of Mr Neely’s behaviour.
Further fuelling longstanding tensions in the US, the victim was black while his alleged killer was white.
Death of Jordan Neely
Mr Neely, 30, was riding the F line Subway train through Lower Manhattan on Monday when the incident occurred.
Some may have recognised him as one time Michael Jackson impersonator who enthralled locals and tourists alike at a popular busking spot in the Times Square Subway hub.
But on Monday he was behaving erratically, bystanders have said, pacing up and down the Subway carriages.
“He starts to make a speech,” freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez said in Spanish during an interview with the New York Post.
“He started screaming in an aggressive manner. He said he had no food, he had no drink that he was tired and doesn’t care if he goes to jail. He started screaming all these things, took off his jacket and threw it on the ground.”
People behaving oddly on Subway trains is not unusual and most passengers ignore it or move further away. Police are also on many platforms for situations that may be more extreme. But there have also been isolated cases of people being killed by fellow riders.
It’s not yet known why the 24-year-old passenger, reportedly an ex-Marine, allegedly decided to take matters into his own hands and bring Mr Neely to the floor of the Subway carriage.
A video then shows him placing Mr Neely in a chokehold while two other passengers hold the struggling man down.
The train stopped at Broadway-Lafayette Street station and police were called.
Mr Neely lost consciousness and could not be revived when emergency services attended.
A man was taken into custody by police but was later released.
The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office has now ruled Mr Neely’s death was a homicide caused by pressure to the neck.
However, whether the case will proceed as a homicide is up to the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, the same official who is attempting to convict former US president Donald Trump.
It may have to go to a grand jury, an initial court process where a jury decides if there is enough evidence for a full trial.
“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,” a statement from the district attorney’s office stated.
‘Disgusting’ death
But the fury over the circumstances of Mr Neely’s death and why his alleged killer isn’t behind bars is building.
Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller – an elected official who oversees the city’s budget – wrote on Twitter that “NYC is not Gotham”.
“We must not become a city where a mentally ill human being can be choked to death by a vigilante without consequence,” he said. “Or where the killer is justified and cheered.”
His last point was aimed at some comments that appeared to minimise the gravity of Mr Neely’s death because of the way he was acting at the time.
New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter that Mr Neely was “murdered”.
“But because Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarise itself while many in power demonise the poor, the murderer gets protected with passive headlines and no charges. It’s disgusting.”
She added in a further tweet: “Killing is wrong. Killing the poor is wrong. Killing the mentally ill is wrong. Why is that so hard to say?”
‘Let them do their job’
However, New York’s mayor Eric Adams, also a Democrat and a former police officer, has urged people to let the investigation run its course into the circumstances of Mr Neely’s death.
“To really interfere with (the investigation) is not the right thing to do,” Mr Adams told CNN.
“I’m going to be responsible and allow them to do their job and allow them to determine exactly what happened here.
“I was a former transit police officer, and I responded to many jobs where you had a passenger assisting someone,” he added.
“And so we cannot just blanketly say what a passenger should or should not do in a situation like that.”
At a rally held at the station the words “Jordan was murdered here” was spray painted on a platform. One speaker at the protest was quoted by NBC New York as saying people were “deputising themselves” and didn’t have a “compassionate approach to mental health and homelessness”.
‘It’s a big dilemma’
Mr Vazquez, who witnessed Mr Neely’s death, said he was still conflicted about whether passengers should have intervened.
He said he was scared of Mr Neely’s actions and he believed others were too.
“I stayed sitting in my place because it was a little further away, but obviously in those moments, well, one feels fear. One thinks he may be armed.”
No one thought the actions of the other riders would have led to Mr Neely’s death, he said.
“It’s difficult, it’s a very big dilemma. And after two days, I still think it’s complicated. It’s difficult to judge.”
Website Gothamist spoke to tattoo artist Melyssa Votta who knew Mr Neely.
“He was really such a sweet kid, he just had a bad time.”
Ms Votta said Mr Neely had a “passion for performance”.
“He had this dream of being the dancer that he was. He made it happen.”
Muzzy Rosenblatt of homeless organisation the Bowery Residents Committee said questions needed to be answered as to how Mr Neely came to be killed.
“Why (does) our society far too often dehumanise black people and people with mental health challenges?
“While experiencing another person’s mental health crisis can feel scary, that is no justification for the taking of another person’s life.”
Whatever the circumstances, the death of Mr Neely is turning into another furious intersection of race and the justice system in the US.
Originally published as Fury builds over death of a homeless man in the New York Subway allegedly by a fellow passenger
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