A man died after a New York City subway rider put him in a chokehold for about 15 minutes following an altercation on a train, according to police and a witness.
The incident, partly captured on cell phone video, happened around 2:27 p.m. Monday on a northbound F train. The 30-year-old man was found unconscious when officers arrived at the Broadway and East Houston Street subway station and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, the New York City Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine identified the 30-year-old as Jordan Neely, a subway busker who performed dance routines in costume as Michael Jackson.
“Our broken mental health system failed him,” Levine said. “He deserved help, not to die in a chokehold on the floor of the subway.”
The 24-year-old rider was taken into custody for questioning but later released, police said. He has not been identified by officials. As of early Wednesday afternoon, no charges had been filed.
Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was on the subway, told NBC New York that the 30-year-old man was being aggressive.
“The man got on the subway car and began to say a somewhat aggressive speech, saying he was hungry, he was thirsty, that he didn’t care about anything, he didn’t care about going to jail, he didn’t care that he gets a big life sentence,” Vazquez told the news station in Spanish. “That ‘It doesn’t even matter if I died.'”
Some of the incident was caught on camera by Vazquez. The footage, obtained by NBC New York, showed the 24-year-old on the ground appearing to lock the man in a chokehold while two other subway passengers help restrain him.
Vazquez said the chokehold lasted for about 15 minutes. He told the news station that no one thought the man would die even after he went limp.
Authorities have not released many details about the incident. A police spokesman said officers were called to the station after they received a 911 call about a physical fight.
“Further investigation revealed the 30-year-old was involved in a verbal dispute with the 24-year-old male and it escalated into a physical altercation,” the spokesperson said in a phone call. “During the physical struggle between the two males, the 30-year-old male lost consciousness.”
The police department and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said the investigation is ongoing. The medical examiner’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Brittany Kubicko contributed.