A 30-year-old Black man, Jordan Neely, died Monday afternoon on a New York City subway after another rider, who is white, grabbed him and put him in a chokehold.

A video of the incident taken by freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez shows Neely flailing his arms and legs around as he fought for his life. Blavity will not use that video in its reporting of this story.

According to The New York Times, witnesses said Neely was acting in a “hostile and erratic manner” to other passengers in a subway car when the perpetrator approached him. Police said the other man, 24, moved to restrain Neely, a talented Michael Jackson impersonator.

The incident clip shows the victim attempting to push the perpetrator, who tried to stop him by holding his arms down.

Later, the video shows Neely being held down for nearly two minutes before he stops moving. Then, even after the 30-year-old’s movements stopped, he was still held down for 50 additional seconds before he was let go.

Later, police took the rider who put the victim in a chokehold into custody. They questioned him about the incident and released him soon after that. The 24-year-old was not charged for his involvement in the incident, but the investigation is ongoing. Police have also withheld his identity.

Vazquez has opened up about the incident, explaining that the victim was screaming before the incident.

“‘I don’t have food, I don’t have a drink, I’m fed up,'” he said the victim yelled. “‘I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I’m ready to die.'”

Shortly after that, the 24-year-old went after him, and another passenger also restrained him until he stopped moving.

Police told the New York Daily News, “He yelled and threw garbage at commuters, prompting an argument with the 24-year-old Marine vet.”

Vazquez noted that while the 30-year-old was screaming, he did not assault anyone.

Passengers stared down at the victim’s lifeless body. One person on the train said, “He’ll be all right.”

The victim was unconscious when police arrived on the scene and was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.

The New York Daily News also reported Neely has a “documented mental health history with the NYPD, had been arrested more than 40 times and was a suspect in a 2021 assault.” Still, his friends and fans say he “was homeless and hungry when he acted out on the Manhattan train.”

Beyond The Pale host Rafael Shimunov tweeted, “This was Jordan Neely, a hungry New Yorker choked to death by a grinning Marine who is being celebrated as a hero by NYPD and press. His offense? “Aggressive speech”, throwing his jacket on the ground and asking for food and water.”

The outcry about what happened to Neely has sparked on social media, with many users noting the MJ impersonator was experiencing mental health challenges.

“Everyone has screamed + cried into their pillow when emotions run strong + you need emotional release. Unhoused ppl don’t have 4 walls and a pillow to scream into. They have no choice but to vent in public. Jordan Neely was tired and hungry and didn’t deserve to be murdered,” one Twitter user wrote.

“Jordan Neely was a New Yorker. He was a person. When he began to suffer from mental illness the city’s social safety net failed him, as it had failed countless others. When he exhibited signs of his mental illness in public he was murdered on the F train,” another added.

One viewer urged others to remember Neely for who he was, not how he died.

“Please remember Jordan Neely for the talent he was and not how he died in the midst of what was probably a mental health crisis (@ the hands of someone else),” they wrote, including a clip of Neely’s past performances. 

Others argued this incident isn’t symbolic of who New Yorkers are.

“Jordan Neely loved to dance and perform. On Tuesday, while suffering a mental health crisis, he was choked to death while people watched and cheered. Jordan needed care. Instead, he was brutally murdered. This is not who we are as New Yorkers,” the New York Working Families Party tweeted.

New York City’s comptroller, Brad Lander, tweeted: “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. Or where the killer is justified & cheered.”

 

 

Jordan NeelyNew York City