A city that permits the seriously mentally ill to roam free is begging for tragic outcomes.
In an incident sadly familiar to many New Yorkers, a man living on the streets with a long history of mental illness started screaming, acting erratically, and threatening the people sharing his subway car earlier this week. “I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison,” screamed the 30-year-old Jordan Neely, who had 44 arrests under his belt and an outstanding warrant for felony assault, as he flailed around throwing items of his clothing. “I’m ready to die!”
In response, a 24-year-old Marine Corps veteran put Neely in a chokehold, incapacitating him and releasing him after he stopped struggling and passed out. A freelance reporter who took video of the incident, Juan Alberto Vazquez, told news outlets that no one on the train initially thought Neely was in any worse shape than being unconscious, but by the time the police who met the train at the station took him to a nearby hospital, Neely was pronounced dead.
Police questioned the young man, whose name they did not make public, but released him without charges pending an investigation. In the next 36 hours, the usual suspects began to gin up the outrage machine. Readers online lambasted The New York Times for not immediately declaring Neely a murder victim and characterized the incident as having racist implications; Neely is black, and the Marine is white. Governor Kathy Hochul declared the case “troubling.” AOC tweeted, “Jordan Neely was murdered” and declared that funding the police is “militarized” and “disgusting.” By the end of the week, it’s likely Jordan Neely will be on the front of every paper, forcing the country to consider whether erratic and threatening behavior from someone clearly out of his mind justifies the application of force in self-defense.
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