Global Courant 2023-05-05 04:34:56
New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for justice in the case of a Marine veteran accused of putting a homeless man in a chokehold on a New York City subway just before he died.
Hochul this week responded to the death of Jordan Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator with a long criminal history, saying his family deserved justice in the subway murder.
“I want to acknowledge how horrifying it was to see a video of Jordan Neely being killed for being a passenger on our subways,” Hochul told reporters on Thursday. “I’m very happy that the prosecutor is investigating this case. Like I said, there had to be consequences, and so we’ll see how this unfolds.”
NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS ‘MIGRANT CRISIS’ UNDER BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS ‘DESTRUCTED’ CITY
Governor Kathy Hochul called for justice in the death of Jordan Neely, who died after being strangled by a subway passenger. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“But his family deserves justice,” she added.
The coroner has ruled Neely’s death a homicide. The deadly incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. Monday when Neely began behaving erratically on a train. He allegedly threw garbage at a passenger.
A 24-year-old Marine veteran, who has not been identified, held Neely in a stranglehold for about 15 minutes. Two other passengers restrained Neely by holding his arms down and pressing his shoulders to the ground.
During the chaos, Neely lost consciousness. EMTs arrived to resuscitate him, but he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead soon after. Neely reportedly complained of thirst and hunger and a passenger told the New York Post that while Neely was yelling aggressively, he did not physically attack anyone.
Someone holds a sign during a protest over the death of Jordan Neely on the subway. (FNTV)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Navy veteran’s attorney.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former New York City traffic police officer, was asked if passengers should take matters into their own hands.
“Every situation is different,” he said during an appearance on Global Courant on Wednesday. “We can’t just say what a passenger should or shouldn’t do in such a situation.”
Hochul said the incident was a case of “one person taking the situation into their own hands”.
“Just looking at that video, you know, it’s wrong,” she said of the incident, which was taped. “No one has the right to take another person’s life. And in this circumstance, I’ve said it all along and have remained steadfast in our commitment to help people with mental health issues, by offering them an alternative.”
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, along with other Democrats, criticized Adams’ comments in a series of tweets.
NYPD officers are performing CPR on a 30-year-old man who choked to death on a train in Manhattan on Monday after allegedly threatening belt hangers, police said. (Paul Martinka)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“This honestly feels like a new low: not being able to clearly condemn a public murder because the victim was of social status some would consider ‘too low’ to care about,” she wrote. “The last sentence is particularly rich from an administrator trying to cut the very services that could have helped him.”
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander also condemned the Navy veteran’s actions in a tweet.
“NYC is not Gotham. We must not become a city where a mentally ill human being can be strangled by a vigilante without consequence,” he wrote.
Adams called it not “very responsible” for elected officials to denounce Neely’s death as a homicide as the investigation continues.
Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.
