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A man riding the subway in New York City died Monday afternoon after another passenger physically restrained him with an apparent chokehold inside the train, police said.
Around 2:30 p.m. Monday, New York police responded to a 911 call about a physical fight at the Broadway-East Houston Street station in Manhattan, the department told USA TODAY.
Police found the man, 30-year-old Jordan Neely, unconscious and unresponsive and he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner told USA TODAY Neely’s death was ruled a homicide and said the cause of death was compression of the neck, but noted that intent and culpability would be determined by the criminal justice system.
No arrests have been made, the NYPD told USA TODAY.
Earlier, the victim had gotten into a verbal fight with a 24-year-old man, according to police. The dispute escalated into a physical fight on the subway car and Neely “lost consciousness,” police said.
Video taken by a bystander shows the 24-year-old with his arms wrapped around Neely’s neck in a chokehold as the two lie on the floor of the subway car.
The who died had been screaming on the train when the other passenger restrained him, according to the New York Times. Witnesses told police the victim had been acting “hostile and erratic” toward other subway passengers when he was approached by the 24-year-old man, the outlet reported.
After finally being released from the chokehold, the victim lay motionless on the floor of the subway car, video shows.
The 24-year-old man was taken into custody, questioned and released, according to police. The investigation into the death is ongoing, the NYPD said Wednesday.
What does the video show?
Video taken by a bystander and uploaded to Facebook shows two men lying on the floor of a subway car, one with his arms wrapped around the other’s neck and his legs wrapped around the man’s waist from behind.
The video shows Neely struggling to break free from the other’s grasp.
A third man tries to hold down the victim’s arms, which are flailing and reaching for something to grab onto.
The victim and the man administering the chokehold rotate on the floor of the F train car for a couple minutes as the victim writhes and tries to escape.
The video was taken by a freelance journalist named Juan Alberto Vazquez, according to the Times.
Vasquez told the Times the victim got on the northbound train and began yelling.
“‘I don’t have food, I don’t have a drink, I’m fed up,’” the man said, according to the Facebook post from Vasquez. “‘I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I’m ready to die.’”
Vasquez told the Times the passenger who was screaming had not assaulted anyone.
“It was a very tense situation because you don’t know what he’s going to do afterwards,” Vasquez told the Times.
In the video, a voice on an intercom system can be heard saying “police” multiple times, indicating police may respond to a “northbound car.”
Bystanders say in the video the man administering the chokehold was not “squeezing” the victim “no more.”
Finally, after nearly three minutes, the victim is released and stays lying on the floor. Bystanders help turn the man on his side, with his head resting on his outstretched arm, where he remains motionless.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
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