NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- More protests were planned for Friday and Saturday to demand the arrest of a Marine veteran in connection with Monday's killing of a man who was choked to death after acting erratically on a Manhattan subway train.
The story has gained national attention, with protesters growing in numbers following Jordan Neely's death Monday at the hands of a fellow passenger on an F train at the Broadway–Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street station in SoHo.
On Thursday night, dozens of protesters gathered at Barclays Center and then marched over the Manhattan Bridge into Lower Manhattan to demand charges be filed in the case.
"What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!" protesters chanted as they crossed the bridge.
"We just want basic due process, basic justice," one woman said. "And Black people need to be treated like the American citizens they are."
Hundreds were expected to attend protests planned for Friday, including one at noon outside the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and another at 6 p.m. in Washington Square Park. Comptroller Brad Lander and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams are expected to be among those in attendance.
A protests is also planned for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Broadway-Lafayette Street station, where a protest was previously held Wednesday.
The NYPD said Thursday that its detectives were actively reviewing evidence in the case and seeking more video footage and witness accounts from people who were on the train during the altercation Monday afternoon.
The department said its "first priority is always to seek justice" as it works with investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which is weighing whether to bring charges against the 24-year-old Marine vet, who was questioned by police and released after the incident.
Thomas Kenniff, the attorney for the unidentified Marine, told WCBS 880 that his client is currently in contact with both the NYPD and the Manhattan D.A.
The medical examiner’s office ruled Wednesday that Neely, 30, died in a homicide caused by compression of the neck, but it said any determination about criminal culpability would be left to the legal system.
Sources said the NYPD and D.A.'s office met Thursday regarding the case as they continue to look for witnesses. The follow-up could go a few ways. The D.A. may decide to press charges and make an arrest based on the evidence. However, it could also put the evidence before a grand jury to decide. A third option would be for it to press charges and then go to a grand jury.
Neely's death has divided New Yorkers, touching on topics like mental health, public safety, homelessness and race, as Neely was Black and the Marine vet appears to be white.
Critics have said the physical restraint was excessive and that Neely was outnumbered and hadn't attacked anyone. Those defending the Marine's actions say riders were in real fear for their safety in an unpredictable situation in a confined space.
While the killing has evoked a range of passionate responses, little remains publicly known about what transpired in the moments leading up to the fatal chokehold.
Gov. Kathy Hochul called the video-recorded encounter “wrong” and “horrific to view," adding that Neely's “family deserves justice.” But the governor said she was watching how the matter unfolds.
She said sometimes people are loud and emotional in public, but it was “very clear” that Neely was not going to harm others and the video showed a “very extreme response.”
Mayor Eric Adams, who is a former NYPD officer, said there are "many layers to this" and urged New Yorkers to let the investigative "process follow its course."
"We have to be very careful that facts is based on the actual facts and not what we want to create them to be," the mayor said.
He also pushed back against politicians like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who referred to Neely's death as a "public murder," and he rejected criticism that he hasn't expressed enough outrage, unlike other officials who have called for a quick arrest.
“All the other electeds, they have a role to play and I have a role to play. The police is doing their investigation and the district attorney is doing his investigation, and I respect the process,” Adams said.
Neely had earned money as a Michael Jackson impersonator in the past, but he had reportedly fallen on hard times and was homeless. He was shattered by the 2007 murder of his mother by her boyfriend, according to reports.
Neely had 42 prior arrests over the past decade and an active warrant out for his arrest for allegedly punching a 67-year-old woman in the face in the East Village in November 2021, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.
Witnesses described Neely as acting in a "hostile and erratic manner" to passengers on the F train Monday afternoon, but he didn't attack anyone, according to a police report. He reportedly yelled he was "fed up" with being hungry and thirsty before throwing his coat on the floor of the train.
"I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison," Neely said, according to witness Juan Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist who spoke with the New York Times. "I'm ready to die."
At some point, the Marine vet intervened and ended up on the floor of the train with Neely, who he had in a chokehold until police arrived. Video shows him holding Neely with the help of two other people for at least 3 minutes, perhaps longer. At some point, Neely lost consciousness; he was pronounced dead at Lenox Health Greenwich Village.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted to the NYPD online.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related
Related
Related
Related
