New York politicians who have dismissed concerns over rising crime in New York City were quick to condemn those responsible for restraining Jordan Neely, a subway passenger who died after displaying erratic behavior that forced onlookers to intervene.
“Jordan Neely was murdered,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., declared on Twitter Wednesday.
The comments come after video showing the dramatic altercation aboard a New York City subway that led to Neely’s death went viral Wednesday, sparking widespread debate over the force passengers used to restrain Neely.
According to NYPD, Neely boarded the subway and began displaying erratic behavior, demanding food while acting aggressively and threatening the safety of passengers. That’s when a group of passengers on the train stepped in to intervene, with one 24-year-old Marine veteran placing Neely in a chokehold.
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Police eventually arrived to the train and found Neely unconscious, and first responders were unable to revive him. The New York City medical examiner later determined Neely died of compression of neck, likely due to the chokehold.
“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,” Ocasio-Cortez said of the incident.
The quick condemnation of what Ocasio-Cortez called “murder” on a city subway stands in stark contrast to how the New York lawmaker typically reacts to crime in the city, which she has previously downplayed.
“Subway crime is up. But let’s also note that subway crime is up after they committed so many more officers to the subway system. So that also tells us from a policy perspective, adding more cops to the subway isn’t solving this problem,” Ocasio-Cortez said last year.
According to the NYPD, police were not on the scene at the time of Neely’s outburst, while the chokehold he was placed in was held for roughly 15 minutes as those who intervened waited for police to arrive.
Ocasio-Cortez’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.
Ocasio-Cortez was joined by fellow “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who took to Twitter to argue that Neely was “publicly executed.”
“Black men seem to always be choked to death,” Bowman said Wednesday. “Jordan Neely did not have to die. It’s as simple as that. Yet we have another Black man publicly executed.”
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Bowman has been an outspoken advocate of the “Defund the Police” movement, including calls to disarm police in 2019 and arguing that police “terrorize communities” a year later.
“A system this cruel and inhumane can’t be reformed. Defund the police, and defund the system that’s terrorizing our communities,” Bowman said on Twitter after his 2020 election victory.
Bowman’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.
Ocasio-Cortez and Bowman were joined by New York City Comptroller Brand Lander, who called the Marine veteran responsible for subduing Neely a “vigilante.”
But Lander has also come under fire for previous comments that were seen as soft on crime, including a claim last year that New York’s 2019 bail reform law has not led to more crime in New York City.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams took aim at Ocasio-Cortez and Lander specifically Wednesday, arguing the New York leaders shouldn’t rush to judgment until police have had an opportunity to complete their investigation.
“I don’t think that’s very responsible at the time where we are still investigating the situation,” Adams said during an interview with CNN.
“Let’s let the DA conduct his investigation with the law enforcement officials. To really interfere with that is not the right thing to do,” he continued. “”I’m going to be responsible and allow them to do their job and allow them to determine exactly what happened here.”
Lander did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.
