Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is blasting New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) for his statement about the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely — who died after being placed in a chokehold on a subway.
In a statement, Adams said, “Any loss of life is tragic. There’s a lot we don’t know about what happened here, so I’m going to refrain from commenting further.”
“However, we do know that there were serious mental health issues in play here,” he continued before calling on officials to prioritize “getting people the care they need.”
Ocasio-Cortez shared the statement and wrote, “This honestly feels like a new low: not being able to clearly condemn a public murder because the victim was of a social status some would deem ‘too low’ to care about.”
“The last sentence is especially rich from an admin trying to cut the very services that could have helped him,” she added.
This honestly feels like a new low: not being able to clearly condemn a public murder because the victim was of a social status some would deem “too low” to care about.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 3, 2023
The last sentence is especially rich from an admin trying to cut the very services that could have helped him. https://t.co/0DtXl9DOO5
Neely died on Monday after a 24-year-old Marine veteran put him in a chokehold while they were sharing a subway car. He was reportedly held in a chokehold for 15 minutes.
According to The New York Post, Neely “began going on an aggressive rant on a northbound F train Monday afternoon, according to police and a witness who took the video.”
Freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez told the paper, “He started screaming in an aggressive manner.”
“He said he had no food, he had no drink, that he was tired and doesn’t care if he goes to jail. He started screaming all these things, took off his jacket, a black jacket that he had, and threw it on the ground,” he added.
At that point, the Marine veteran walked over and placed him in a chokehold.
A witness told CBS News Neely had been panhandling and shouting, but, “It did not appear that this man, who seemed to be suffering from some kind of mental disturbance, was seeking to assault anyone.”
On Wednesday, a medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide. However, the man who placed him in the chokehold has not been charged as of Thursday morning.
By Wednesday evening, Neely’s death and whether the veteran’s actions were justified were being debated on Twitter.
Jordan Neely has a history of mental illness & has been arrested over 40 times by the NYPD.
— Kingsley Wilson (@KingsleyCortes) May 3, 2023
If Alvin Bragg focused less on political prosecutions & more on ending cashless bail, Neely might still be alive today. https://t.co/P1CnQIAzgD
Here we go again. A good samaritan steps up to restrain an insane erratic vagrant with 40 prior arrests and an active warrant for felony assault. The vagrant dies in the struggle, and now leftist scum are calling for the hero's head. https://t.co/KyjpLUSN6Y
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 3, 2023
The man who restrained Jordan Neely isn’t just in the right here, he’s a hero. But sadly heroes get punished in our sick and depraved society. He needs to get out of NYC immediately.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 3, 2023
The only racial component in play in the subway chokehold incident is that the powers that be in this city decided they would rather let criminally insane vagrants back on the street after their 40th arrests than add to the racial “disparities” in the criminal justice system.
— Inez Stepman ⚪️🔴⚪️ (@InezFeltscher) May 3, 2023
He was 30 years old.
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) May 4, 2023
Black men deserve to grow old—not be lynched on a Subway because they were having a mental health crisis.
Jordan deserved better. Accountability now. pic.twitter.com/aX5qcryrbx
he’s a murderer actually! hope this helps
— liz (@unrealizzztic) May 3, 2023
Jordan Neely was murdered.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 3, 2023
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.
It’s disgusting. https://t.co/YJeQp9bbgE
Conservatives pointed to Neely’s mental health issues and reports of him having been previously arrested for assault. But the reports have not suggested the veteran knew of him or had a clear reason to believe he actually posed a threat.
And from the reports so far, it is not precisely clear exactly what was said that led the veteran to place Neely in a chokehold. Shouting and making aggressive statements can be disturbing and uncomfortable especially if the subway is moving and you cannot just exit the car.
But is such behavior enough — without a genuine sense of imminent bodily harm or an assault — to justifiably go and put a stranger in a chokehold for 15 minutes? At the very least, could there have been other methods of restraining him?
The investigation is ongoing and more information will come out.
But there was nothing wrong with Adams declining to comment further in his statement. Elected officials who have large platforms to sway public opinion, and at the very least the image of the ability to sway investigations, should hold off on commenting on Neely’s death until more is known.