In what some protesters are calling a case of semi-sanctioned vigilantism, a man experiencing an apparent mental health crisis was killed on board a New York City subway after another passenger placed him in a chokehold on Monday.
On Wednesday evening, the New York City chief medical examiner ruled the death of Jordan Neely a homicide, according to CBS News. His cause of death was determined to be “compression of neck” or a “chokehold.”
Neely, a 30-year-old man experiencing homelessness, was filmed as another F train passenger, an unidentified 24-year-old marine veteran, wrapped his arms around Neely’s neck and head for several minutes. Two other men held Neely’s arms and shoulder as he fought back against the chokehold.
When the train arrived at the Broadway-Lafayette subway stop, Neely was unconscious in the chokehold. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.
Prior to the chokehold, Neely, a popular Michael Jackson impersonator, was allegedly screaming at others on the train about being hungry and thirsty and throwing his coat on the ground. He did not physically attack anyone.
The man accused of putting Neely, who is Black, in a chokehold was questioned by police and later released, according to the New York City Police Department. It is unclear if anyone has been arrested or charged.
American civil rights and social justice activist Rev. Al Sharpton demanded Neely’s death be investigated as manslaughter. He referenced the Bernhard Goetz case in 1984, which saw a white man shoot five Black men on a subway train in New York.
“We cannot end up back to a place where vigilantism is tolerable. It wasn’t acceptable then and it cannot be acceptable now,” Sharpton said in a statement, via The Washington Post.
“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 spokesperson for the district attorney told the New York Times.
The public response to Neely’s death has been loud. Protestors have stormed the streets and subway stations in New York City to demand justice and better responses to homelessness and the mental health crisis in the state. Many lamented New York’s existing policies toward those experiencing homelessness.
Others have staunchly defended the actions of the marine who put Neely in a chokehold.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “there’s a lot we don’t know” about Neely’s “tragic” death.
“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,” Adams said, according to the Times.
New York City council member Tiffany Cabán called for social change in the way people perceive homelessness and mental illness. She wrote: “People experiencing homelessness, mental illness, hunger and frustration need and deserve compassion and trauma-informed care.”
“Officials and media outlets have instead told us that they are threats to be contained by force,” she wrote. “Jordan Neely’s murder is the inevitable result.”
In a thread, Cabán continued, writing, “Homelessness gets classified under ‘crime,’ but lethal vigilante violence doesn’t.”
She called for investments in socially owned and managed affordable housing, safe respites and emergency responses for those experiencing mental illness, and an instant halt to “repeated arrests, forced hospitalization or murder.”
New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Wednesday that Neely was “murdered.”
“But bc Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarize itself while many in power demonize the poor, the murderer gets protected w/ passive headlines + no charges,” she wrote. “It’s disgusting.”
The Times reported that a possible criminal case over Neely’s death would question whether the man who put Neely in a chokehold was justified in the use of force. In New York, deadly force can be used in the event that one believes an attacker would do the same.
-
![]()
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau kicks off the conversation around Mental Health Week -
![]()
Mass Casualty Commission says mental health resources needed in communities affected by mass shooting -
![]()
Province announces funding for crisis teams amid rise in downtown Calgary crime -
![]()
Halifax student calls for more mental health supports in wake of high school stabbing
Comments