NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The Manhattan district attorney's office is investigating the death of a mentally ill man placed in a fatal chokehold by a fellow subway rider Monday, the DA's office said.
"We have an ongoing investigation," a spokesman for DA Alvin Bragg told the New York Post.
Prosecutors will reportedly consider whether to charge the 24-year-old passenger who stepped in when Jordan Neely, 30, acted out on a northbound F train heading toward the Broadway-Lafayette station in Lower Manhattan on Monday afternoon.
The younger man, who sources told the Daily News is a Marine veteran, was taken into custody after the incident but then released without charges being filed. He declined to comment when reached by the Post on Tuesday.
The deadly encounter has sparked widespread outrage after footage emerged showing the 24-year-old holding Neely in a headlock while another rider helped pin the man down on the train floor.
Neely lost consciousness, police said. First responders rushed him to Lenox Hill Hospital, where he died.
Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist who recorded video of the incident, told the Post that Neely was yelling at riders that he didn't have any food or drinks and said that he "doesn't care if he goes to jail." Police have said he threatened other passengers and threw garbage at them.
Neely was described by police as a subway recidivist with 44 prior arrests, including assault, disorderly conduct and fare evasion, WABC-TV reported.
According to the NYPD, Neely had been living on the streets and had a history of mental illness.
Mike Cole, who launched a GoFundMe page for Neely's family, said Neely was also a "very good Michael Jackson impersonator." That fundraiser had raised more than $1,000 by Wednesday afternoon for the impersonator's funeral expenses.
"Over the years multiple videos have been seen across the internet of him emulating the King of Pop garnishing thousands of views," Cole said. "He was a natural raw talent who touched a lot of people’s lives. Jordan was a very loving and caring individual who did not deserve to have his life taken like this."
A source told the Daily News that an autopsy into Neely's death was inconclusive, but more tests on the muscle tissue in his neck are needed to determine whether he was strangled or if the chokehold played a factor in his death.
Brooklyn State Sen. Andrew Gounardes weighed in on Neely's killing, telling WCBS 880 that the 24-year-old is not a "hero."
"I don't think that we can automatically assume that he did the right thing based on what we currently know," Gounardes said. "We should not forget about the life of the person who is no longer with us."
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