According to police officials and video, Neely had been harassing passengers on the subway and making threats when he was placed in a minutes-long headlock by a 24-year-old former US Marine.
Forty-eight hours later, Neely’s death, and the response to it, threatens to become a flash-point highlighting what some say is a semi-sanctioned vigilante response to homelessness and the mental health crisis, with others defending the actions of the Marine who had asked fellow passengers to call 911.
King James, 47, said he’d been on the F train in a separate subway car when the incident occurred. James said the station, which is warm and spacious, was a gathering place for panhandlers like himself. Minister Ray Tarvin said he knew Neely as a man in need. “He was a nice person, not aggressive or violent. Everyone who knew him knows that. He’d accept anything you had – many of the homeless down here are sober. They’re needing food or shelter or clothing, not strung out and shooting up dope.”by the New York medical examiner.Photograph: Jake Offenhartz/APthat Jordan’s mother, Christie Neely, had died at the hands of another person when her son was 18 years old.