New York City subway chokehold death divides elected officials

NEW YORK — A rift opened Wednesday night between New York City officials reacting to the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old who was put into a chokehold on the subway by another rider and later died from his injuries.

Caught in the middle is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Multiple reports have noted Neely, who is Black, was acting erratically on an F train Monday when he was put into a chokehold by a 24-year old white passenger. On Wednesday, the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

The incident has sparked growing concern throughout the week, most prominently from left-leaning New York officials.

“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 consequences. Or where the killer is justified & cheered,” City Comptroller Brad Lander tweeted Tuesday.

A day later, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighed in.

“Jordan Neely was murdered. But bc 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 w/ passive headlines + no charges,” she tweeted. “It’s disgusting.”

The former Marine has not been charged in the case. But on Wednesday night, Mayor Eric Adams chided his fellow elected officials for getting ahead of the district attorney, who is looking into the incident.

“I don’t think that’s very responsible at a time when we are still investigating the situation. Let’s let the DA conduct his investigation with law enforcement officials,” Adams said during an appearance on CNN. “To interfere with that is not the right thing to do.”

Adams, who was once a transit cop during his career with the NYPD, urged observers to reserve judgment until more facts in the case are known.

“We cannot just blatantly say what a passenger should or should not do in a situation like that,” he said.

On Thursday, he reiterated his position to let the investigation play out.

"All the other electeds have a role to play, and I have a role to play," he told reporters. "The police are doing their investigation, and the district attorney is doing his investigation. And I respect the process."

Gov. Kathy Hochul drew initial criticism for not taking a strong position on the case after initially suggesting Wednesday there are "consequences for behavior." But on Thursday, she sought to clarify her remarks and called the video of the incident "horrific."

"I'm really pleased that the district attorney is looking into this matter," Hochul told reporters Thursday. "As I said, there have to be consequences and so we'll see how this unfolds. But his family deserves justice."

She added that Neely's death is another indication of the need to help people suffering from mental illness.

"This was an unarmed individual who had been on the subways many times, known by many of the regular travelers and sometimes people have an episode where they are displaying their feelings in a loud and emotional way, but it became very clear that he was not going to cause harm to these other people," Hochul continued. "And the video of three individuals holding him down until the last breath was snuffed out of him, I would say was a very extreme response."

In a statement Wednesday, Bragg's office detailed some of the steps it would be taking as it looks into the case — and alluded that updates may not arrive as quickly as some observers would like.

“This is a solemn and serious matter that ended in the tragic loss of Jordan Neely’s life," DA spokesperson Doug Cohen said in a statement. "As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records. This investigation is being handled by senior, experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is additional public information to share."

While Adams occupies far more moderate political territory than Bragg, who was elected as a progressive, he has been a staunch ally of the prosecutor, declining to pile on during the disastrous rollout of a policy memo early in Bragg’s tenure, for example.

His deference to the process now gives Bragg some political cover, even as pressure builds to bring charges from a broader slice of the political spectrum.

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, whose political philosophy aligns more closely with the mayor’s, released a lengthy statement Wednesday night lamenting Neely’s killing and calling for a thorough investigation.

“Racism that continues to permeate throughout our society allows for a level of dehumanization that denies Black people from being recognized as victims when subjected to acts of violence,” she said, later adding that “The initial response by our legal system to this killing is disturbing and puts on display for the world the double standards that Black people and other people of color continue to face.”

The Working Families Party, meanwhile, ripped the initial response from Adams and Hochul.

“Jordan Neely didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve to be choked to death in plain sight for the crime of being unhoused and in need of care. Yet both the Mayor and Governor have refused to call this what it is: a modern-day public lynching," Maurice Mitchell, the party's director, said in a statement.