A Black man in New York City died on a subway train after being put in a chokehold by another rider, and police have filed no charges in relation to the incident.
Witnesses allege Jordan Neely, 30, was shrieking and acting “hostile and erratic” toward other northbound F train passengers when an unidentified 24-year-old Marine veteran approached and attempted to subdue him. Neely, who reportedly was not a direct threat to anyone, had just screamed: “I don’t have food, I don’t have a drink, I’m fed up,” according to The New York Times. “I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I’m ready to die.”
On Wednesday, the medical examiner’s office ruled that Neely died of a homicide by “compression of neck (chokehold),” CBS News reported.
According to The Times, the victim is shown flailing his arms and kicking his legs in a video of the encounter that freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez captured. Neely also pushes off a different man who is holding his arms down.
“It was a very tense situation,” Vazquez told The Times, “because you don’t know what he’s going to do afterwards.”
Vazquez recalled being on the train, heading to a date when the victim got on and started shouting. He said that despite not having attacked anyone, the new rider was intimidating.
In the video, Neely is held down for at least two minutes before he stops moving and is released about 50 seconds later. Police arrived to find him unconscious.
Authorities transported Neely to Lenox Health Hospital in Greenwich Village, and he was pronounced dead there.
Police detained the unnamed veteran responsible for the chokehold, questioned him, then released him.
Vazquez admitted that he has mixed feelings regarding the unidentified man’s actions, noting that he didn’t expect the passenger to die.
A strange thing happened on the subway …
“I am confused now because I’m not sure how to think about what the young man did,” he said, The Times reported. “He was trying to help.”
In a joint statement earlier this year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul noted a 16 percent decrease in significant crime rates in the subway from Oct. 25 to Jan. 22 compared with the previous year.
While he acknowledged that many facts remain unknown, in a statement sent through his spokesperson, Adams urged public authorities and advocacy organizations to help prioritize providing individuals the care they require rather than letting them languish.
“Any loss of life is tragic,” Adams’ spokesperson said, CBS reported. “However, we do know that there were serious mental health issues in play here, which is why our administration has made record investments in providing care to those who need it and getting people off the streets and the subways and out of dangerous situations.”
In 2022, there were 10 murders on the subway, up from an average of two annually in the five years before the pandemic, prompting the decision to increase police presence. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority also announced the addition of security cameras to each subway car.
“A life was senselessly taken away,” one person said during a gathering in Neely’s honor Wednesday, CBS reported. “Someone who was homeless, struggling with mental health. Right now, a lot of folks are infuriated because our government is not prioritizing housing.”
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