You’ve probably heard something about this case by now but for those who have not let’s start at the beginning. Monday, a 30-year-old homeless man named Jordan Neely got on a subway train in New York and began shouting. He said he wanted food and he said he didn’t care what happened to him adding that he wasn’t afraid to go to jail. People on the train were afraid of what he was going to do next. Then a 24-year-old former Marine came up behind him and put Neely in a chokehold. Two other people also helped him restrain Neely.

Here’s a report from NBC New York which relies on the eyewitness who shot the video. I can’t post it here because it’s an age restricted video so you’ll have to watch it on YouTube. That report claims the chokehold lasted 15 minutes. There’s a version of the original video which lasts four minutes. In it you can see Neely is still alive and moving two minutes in. One of the bystanders warns them not to choke him too long and one of the men restraining Neely looks at the Marine and says “He’s not squeezing anymore.” Then a few seconds later they release Neely and attempt to revive him and place him on his side so he can breath. We see Neely move once before the clip ends.

Video originally posted to https://t.co/vDzD1x1UI4 on May 1 showing Jordan Neely being held in a chokehold for close to four minutes.

Not 15 minutes.

The video does not show how the incident began.

Once he stopped struggling, he was released.

If you witness a scene like this,… pic.twitter.com/Zpva0XLNZb

— Crime in NYC (@CrimeInNYC) May 4, 2023

The eyewitness, whose name is Alberto Vasquez, said he had mixed feelings about what happened:

“None of us who were there thought he was in danger of dying,” Vasquez said. “We thought he just passed out or ran out of air.”

Vazquez said he had mixed feelings about the fatal encounter — particularly since he said Neely had not physically attacked anyone on the train before he was taken down.

“I think that in one sense it’s fine that citizens want to jump in and help. But I think as heroes we have to use moderation,” he said.

“This would never have happened if the police had shown up within five minutes,” he added. “Then we’d be talking about a true hero. It’s complicated.”

Police did eventually arrive and attempted to revive Neely but were unsuccessful. Police interviewed the former Marine but then released him without charges.

Yesterday, there were protests. Some of the protesters used the word murder.

Someone made a custom candle of #JordanNeely for the vigil, which is more like a protest, for him. pic.twitter.com/ioZNjIlAJi

— Talia Jane (@taliaotg) May 3, 2023

pic.twitter.com/YQqug4wAND

— Talia Jane (@taliaotg) May 3, 2023

Some trash in the street, as someone yells to passersby “A white vigilante murdered a black homeless man, and the NYPD didn’t do anything.” pic.twitter.com/oCkKLPOjbD

— Talia Jane (@taliaotg) May 3, 2023

That’s how some are presenting this: “A white vigilante murdered a homeless black man.” One of the people saying that is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

It is appalling how so many take advantage of headlines re: crime for an obsolete “tough on crime” political, media, & budgetary gain, but when a public murder happens that reinforces existing power structures, those same forces rush to exonerate&look the other way. We shouldn’t.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 3, 2023

Mayor Adams responded to that tweet last night on CNN. Adams, who is a former cop, called the comments irresponsible and said people should wait for the DA’s investigation and let them determine what happened.

I asked @NYCMayor Eric Adams to respond to comments from @AOC and @bradlander regarding the death of #JordanNeely on the NYC subway Monday. Here's what he said:

"I don't think that's very responsible at a time when we're still investigating the situation."@CNN #CNNPrimetime pic.twitter.com/NNkBjrexef

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) May 4, 2023

AOC returned to Twitter today and in her first tweet she was no longer using the word “murder” but instead “killing.” But by the second tweet she was calling it a “public execution.”

Neely’s last words were literally about how going to jail was easier than accessing the social safety net support to get back on his feet and lead a life.

Yet leaders want to raise his record as if that warrants a public execution on the subway?

What have we come to?

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 4, 2023

I get the impression she’s not using her words carefully. Somewhat surprisingly (at least to me) Rev. Al Sharpton was slightly more responsible than AOC or the protesters.

“The National Action Network demands the District Attorney and police investigate this horrific incident as a potential case of manslaughter – if not murder. Thirty years ago, I fought the Bernard Goetz case and we cannot end up back to a place where vigilantism is tolerable. It wasn’t acceptable then and it cannot be acceptable now. We hope the family of Jordan Neely will come forward so NAN can ensure he is funeralized properly and decently.”

I’m not an attorney and I don’t live in New York but I don’t see a murder case here. The marine who put Neely in a chokehold clearly intended to restrain him but there’s no reason to think he intended to kill him either beforehand or in the moment.

Manslaughter is a tougher call, especially 2nd degree manslaughter which is death caused by reckless behavior. I’m not saying it’s a slam dunk case but I could see it being charged and going to a jury to decide whether what happened here fits the definition. But again, I’m not an attorney. We’ll have to wait and see what the DA decides. The death has been ruled a homicide by the medical examiner.