Global Courant 2023-05-04 07:54:13
A man died after a New York subway driver choked him for about 15 minutes after an altercation on a train, police and a witness said.
The incident, partially captured on mobile phone video, happened on a northbound F train at around 2:27 p.m. Monday.
The 30-year-old man was found unconscious when officers arrived at the Broadway and East Houston Street subway station, and he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the New York Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.
The New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s office said the deceased man died of “compression of the neck (chokehold)” and that the form was homicide.
Chairman of the City of Manhattan Mark Levin identified the man as Jordan Neely, a subway busker who performed dance routines in costume like Michael Jackson.
“Our broken mental health system has failed him,” said Levine. “He deserved help, not to die in a chokehold on the subway floor.”
The 24-year-old motorcyclist was taken into custody for questioning and later released, police said. He has not been publicly identified.
No charges have been filed, but the Manhattan district attorney’s office said it is under investigation.
“As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the medical examiner’s report, review all available video and photographic evidence, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records,” said DOUG Cohen, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office. a statement. .
Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was on the subway, told NBC New York that the 30-year-old man was aggressive.
A 30-year-old man died Monday aboard a Manhattan subway after an altercation that began with threatening other passengers, investigators said, and ended with his stranglehold.Juan Alberto Vazquez
“The man got on the subway and started to give a somewhat aggressive speech, he said he was hungry, he was thirsty, he didn’t care, he didn’t care about going to jail, it he didn’t care that he gets a hefty life sentence,” Vazquez told the station in Spanish. “That ‘it doesn’t even matter if I’m dead’.”
Vazquez captured part of the incident on camera. The video, obtained by NBC New York, showed the 24-year-old on the floor appearing to be holding the man in a chokehold while two other subway passengers helped restrain him.
Vazquez said the chokehold lasted about 15 minutes. He told the station that no one thought the man would die, even after he went limp.
Authorities have not released many details. A police spokesman said officers were called to the station after being given an 911 call about a physical fight.
“Further investigation revealed that the 30-year-old was involved in a verbal dispute with the 24-year-old man that escalated into a physical altercation,” the spokesman said in a telephone conversation. “During the physical struggle between the two men, the 30-year-old man lost consciousness.”
Police and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said the investigation is continuing. The medical examiner’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Brittany Kubicko and Alec Hernandez contributed.
