A Black man desperate for help instead finds death on N.Y. subway
What happened to a young Black man in a New York subway car was a fundamental failure of humanity that began long before he was killed. Witnesses on the train in Manhattan say Jordan Neely was clearly in mental distress on May 1. Disheveled and with his voice raised and agitated, he reportedly said he was hungry, thirsty, and wanted to die. Though Neely’s behavior was described as “hostile and erratic” toward passengers, there’s no evidence that he threatened his fellow riders.
But one of those riders grabbed Neely from behind in a choke hold and pulled him to the floor. Others on the train held Neely’s arms, cheered as the man squeezed the life out of Neely, or simply did nothing. After several minutes, Neely went limp and was later pronounced dead. A medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by compression of the neck.
Like too many before Neely, another Black man’s agonizing death went viral on social media. But accountability for his killing has so far remained much more elusive.
“Jordan Neely was murdered,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York tweeted. “But [because] 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 [with] passive headlines + no charges. It’s disgusting.”
The man who killed Neely, identified in media reports as a white 24-year-old former US Marine, was questioned by police and let go. His name was withheld — even as police released Neely’s criminal record. Headlines called Neely “unhinged” but described the man who killed him as a veteran and used exonerative language to portray him as a valorous man saving the threatened throngs from a scary Black man.
In a statement, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said it’s conducting a “rigorous ongoing investigation” into “the tragic loss” of Neely’s life.
Neely, 30, had once been a recognizable subway fixture as a Michael Jackson impersonator, right down to the red and gold military-style jacket, performing for passengers. But hard recent years ground him down as he experienced homelessness and mental health issues.
“One element we haven’t talked about is the billion-dollar investment in mental health services so we don’t have people who are homeless in our subways, many of them in the throes of mental health episodes. And that’s what I believe are some of the factors here,” Governor Kathy Hochul of New York said. “There are consequences for behavior. I will look at it more closely to find out whether the state has a role.”
Those consequences should never include the killing of a man crying out for help. As Adrienne Adams, New York’s City Council speaker, said in a prepared statement, “Let’s be clear: Any possible mental health challenges were no reason for his life to be taken.”
Both homelessness and mental illness are criminalized but rarely addressed in a manner that alleviates these problems with compassion or puts those who suffer on a path toward wholeness. New York Mayor Eric Adams was criticized last year for pushing a plan to involuntarily hospitalize people experiencing homelessness if they were thought to be in a “psychiatric crisis.” There’s more of an effort to eliminate those afflicted by these problems, but less fortitude to tackle the root causes of the problems themselves.
Like any other subway rider in any American city, I’ve seen people seemingly in the thrall of mental anguish. Within the narrow confines of a moving train, it’s tough to watch someone suffering so openly, but also personally concerning when considering whether the situation could escalate into something more dire. Daily life on mass transit often feels like a rolling microcosm of a city’s willful failings, especially against its most vulnerable residents.
But also this — feeling threatened is not the same as being threatened. Not once has it ever crossed my mind to choke someone to death because their behavior made me uncomfortable. And I pray that if I ever witness such an unwarranted horror, I won’t turn away or cheer their demise.
This isn’t just a New York story. It is evidence of a national catastrophe that can neither be ignored nor solved with an unyielding fist. In his final moments, Neely again met what plagued the last years of his life — no one willing to help him. As for the man who killed him, what happens next will either look like accountability or a tacit endorsement of extrajudicial violence.
Feeling threatened is not the same as being threatened. Not once has it ever crossed my mind to choke someone to death because their behavior made me uncomfortable.