Advocates for the homeless are calling for accountability in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who died this week on a New York City subway train after he was placed in a fatal chokehold by a fellow passenger for several minutes.
Neely, a Black man who had performed on subway platforms as a Michael Jackson impersonator, had been complaining of hunger and thirst while riding an F train in Manhattan on Monday, according to journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez, who witnessed the incident. Vazquez described his account in a Facebook post in which he shared a four-minute video showing the encounter.
Neely, shouted that he was fed up, that he didn’t care if he went to prison and that he was ready to die, Vazquez wrote. Neely then took off his jacket and aggressively threw it on the subway-car floor, but did not appear to want to attack anyone, according to the journalist. Then, a white, 24-year-old passenger on the train put Neely in a headlock and held him in the position for 15 minutes, Vazquez said. Two other bystanders also stepped in to help the man restrain Neely.
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