Protests break out in New York, 11 arrested

Eleven people were arrested on the evening of May 8 during protests in Manhattan over the death of Jordan Neely. The New York Post reported in more detail.

Chaos erupted near the Broadway-Lafayette tube station, where Neely was killed a week ago by another former Marine, Daniel Penny. He used a choke hold on Nili.

NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey confirmed the arrests and said police monitoring the protests found a Molotov cocktail on the ground.

No one was found involved in the use of the Molotov cocktail and no one was arrested.

Law enforcement sources said most of the charges were related to disorderly conduct and obstruction of government administration.

Freelance news photographer Stephanie Keith was among those taken into custody, according to photographs and footage from the scene. Authorities claimed she intervened in at least three arrests of other people before she was handcuffed.

Another man with a bloodied face was also detained. He was caught on a body camera video in which a police officer says the man hit a pole.

The protests come two days after protesters held up a train at a station on the Upper East Side when they jumped onto subway tracks to protest Neely’s death.

On the subject: Due to social media challenges, the number of deaths in the New York subway has increased

At the beginning of the action inside the station, a handful of people chanted “Jordan Neely” in memory of a 30-year-old homeless man who had suffered from mental illness for years. According to social media posts, the planned event was met with an intense police presence.

Protesters using sound amplifiers (horns) needed permission and were warned several times before being arrested, police said.

“We have repeatedly warned against using this device,” said NYPD Patrol Chief John Chell.

Chell also said demonstrators were arrested for blocking the movement and two people were taken into custody for fighting with each other.

In addition to the 11 arrested, Chell said two protesters suspected of jumping onto the railroad tracks were also detained.

Penny, a 24-year-old ex-Marine, used a lethal chokehold on Neely after Neely, according to witnesses, yelled at passengers on the F train.

Penny’s legal team said their client acted in self-defense, alleging that Neely threatened him and other passengers. His lawyers also stated that Penny never intended to harm Neely.

Nili needed help

Neely was on a list that outreach workers call the “Top 50,” New York City’s list of homeless people who live on the street and who most urgently need help and treatment. An anonymous employee of the Bowery Citizens’ Committee, a non-profit organization that works with the subway in the city, said that Neely had hundreds of meetings with social workers, and she was taken to hospitals many times, both voluntarily and involuntarily, writes Yahoo!.

Neely has also been arrested more than 30 times. Mostly for minor offenses – jumping over a turnstile or illegal entry.

Neely’s aunt, Caroline Neely, reported that doctors did not treat him properly.

“Like his aunt, like his blood, I was crying out for medical help for my nephew—but it was about insurance,” she explained. The doctors knew about his condition, he needed to be treated. He was a good person.”

The intensive mobile treatment team took him to Bellevue in March 2020, where he was held for a week. It is not clear what contact the group had with him after that.

“He just needed the help of doctors who didn’t help him when I asked,” Aunt Neely said.

In November 2021, Neely’s aggression reached a peak when he punched a 67-year-old woman on a street in the Lower East Side. According to police, he was charged with assault and spent 15 months in prison, although his family said the sentence was shorter. When he pleaded guilty, he had to go live in a treatment facility in the Bronx and stay clean for 15 months. In turn, his criminal conviction should have been reduced.

Neely promised to take medication and avoid drugs, and not to leave the facility without permission, but left the facility after 13 days. An arrest warrant was issued by Judge Ellen Beeben. Outreach workers and officers who met with him months before his death, unaware of the warrant, said they saw Neely’s condition worsen. Two weeks before his death, an outreach worker saw him in Coney Island and noted that he was aggressive.

“He can harm others or himself if left untreated,” he wrote.

Police sources said that Neely fell into a deep depression after his stepfather brutally murdered his mother in 2007, which is when he started getting into trouble with the police.

Neely often stayed with his grandparents when he wasn’t sleeping outside.

Neighbor James Berry said that “sometimes at night they wouldn’t let him in because they were afraid of him. I myself have never seen him aggressive, but I often saw him sleeping in front of his grandparents’ door.”

“My wife sometimes cooked meals for him, and I gave him a few dollars,” Berry said. “There was something wrong with his psyche, but we all knew what happened to his mother. It’s a sad situation.”

Jordan didn’t deserve to die. I hope that there will be at least some justice in this situation, ”added Berry.

Neely’s family released a statement saying that Penny should be jailed for his actions.

No charges were filed against the Long Islander, although the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said it was investigating the case.

Last week, a medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide.

As ForumDaily New York previously wrote: