Previously we told you about how Representative Alexandria Occasional-Cortex Ocasio-Cortez declared that Jordan Neely was ‘murdered.’ Here’s that tweet:
Jordan Neely was murdered.
But bc 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. https://t.co/YJeQp9bbgE
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 3, 2023
And we told you how Representative Ayanna Pressley declared it a lynching:
He was 30 years old.
Black men deserve to grow old—not be lynched on a Subway because they were having a mental health crisis.
Jordan deserved better. Accountability now. pic.twitter.com/aX5qcryrbx
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) May 4, 2023
(The community notes were added after we initially reported on the tweet.)
And now we start to get pushback from this rush to judgment from New York City Mayor Eric Adams:
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
Indeed, even the New York Times is indicating that it’s not really slam dunk that the death of Mr. Neely was a murder or a lynching:
Advocates for the homeless, city officials and others have called for an arrest after Jordan Neely — who was later pronounced dead — was held in a chokehold on the subway until he went limp. Legal experts say a criminal case could be complex. https://t.co/2H6xc8sgCE
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 3, 2023
And this twitter account starts to highlight the problems that might arise in this case:
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
Recommended
It might be useful at this point to bring in a little law. New York law does allow for the use of force to defend yourself or others. It says:
A person may, subject to the provisions of subdivision two, use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself, herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by such other person
However, if you escalate it to deadly force, you have to meet a higher standard:
A person may not use deadly physical force upon another person under circumstances specified in subdivision one unless … the actor reasonably believes that such other person is using or about to use deadly physical force.
We are skipping over some complexities. For instance, New York has a duty to retreat but 1) it only applies if you can do without endangering yourself or others, and 2) how do you retreat off a moving subway train? There are also relevant questions of who was the initial aggressor. Finally, there is the definition of ‘deadly force’ in New York law: ‘[P]hysical force which, under the circumstances in which it is used, is readily capable of causing death or other serious physical injury.’
Any competent lawyer recognizes there are several avenues of defense. First, was any force justified (as a matter of law)? Second, was deadly force justified? Certainly, if no force was justified then the video definitely shows a crime, but that’s the rub, isn’t it?
However, suppose force is justified, but not deadly force? First, his lawyer could argue that while the force he used caused death, it wasn’t technically ‘deadly force’ as defined by the law. Second, his lawyer could argue that even if it is deadly force, his client didn’t intend to use deadly force. Of course, then we might talk about whether his conduct is reckless, or criminal negligence.
However, the overarching point is that there are a lot of questions no one knows the answers to. What happened before the men used force against Mr. Neely? Did he make threats? Did he engage in violence? We don’t know, so the only rational answer is to reserve judgment—just like Mayor Adams is.
Adams also released statement via email:
New: comment from @NYCMayor Adams on the subway killing of Jordan Neely: pic.twitter.com/u5pAAP51eH
— Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) May 3, 2023
(This statement from Adams came via email from a mayoral spokesperson when I inquired)
— Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) May 3, 2023
Meanwhile, Adrienne Adams, Speaker of the New York City Council decided to pour gasoline on the fire:
Inbox: @NYCSpeakerAdams statement on the killing of Jordan Neely: pic.twitter.com/DWUukJ9xFf
— Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) May 4, 2023
Sigh.
In response to Adams’ statement above, Elie Mystal (who is a man) wrote on Twitter: ‘This f—king guy.’
Only his statement was not censored, which is why we are not placing the tweet directly on this site.
Sadly, Mad Scientist Fat Albert went on:
There's so much of this subway story that makes me insane. The crisis of poverty and homelessness. An ex-soldier, who I'm gonna assume is having some issues readjusting to society. The racial politics. The Kitty Genovese problem (people just watching this man get killed).
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) May 3, 2023
First, he is alleged to be a marine, albeit one discharged from the corps, and its interesting that Mr. Mystal assumes that he is having trouble readjusting to society, instead of assuming he acted in a legally justified manner and is, therefore, innocent. Or maybe Mr. Mystal could just reserve judgment like a sane person.
It’s also interesting that he assumes that the bystanders didn’t approve. They were there. Unlike Mr. Mystal, they actually saw what happened before force was applied to Mr. Neely. They may have felt, rightly or wrongly, that what they were seeing was lawful self-defense or defense of others.
It's every social problem wrapped into one horrible story… and then the New York Times slaps it all in a coat of TERRIBLE JOURNALISM just to make it sting more.
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) May 3, 2023
This apparently was responding to the New York Times piece above suggesting it might not be open and shut. How Mr. Mystal, a lawyer, doesn’t know they are utterly correct is beyond me.
Now in post form https://t.co/yjq4s9w8zC
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) May 4, 2023
The piece is indeed full of the same kind of assumptions that just aren’t justified by the evidence. We’re honestly surprised that The Nation doesn’t have a problem with the potential defamation suit he has exposed them to.
Saner people had other thoughts:
Not a fan of Mayor Adams but that was well put
— DadBod MedicNate (@DadBodMedicNate) May 4, 2023
I don't agree with everything Mayor Adams says or does. I do like is that is usually measured in his statements and is not afraid to call out other leaders in his party.
— MtDewHigh (@JohnDoe71397417) May 4, 2023
It's rare we agree with @NYCMayor, so kudos to him for not immediately condemning this man. While not all details have been released yet, we'll add that self defense & defending others from a violent, mentally unstable individual is not a crime, but a very heroic action indeed.
— Libertarian Party of New York (@lpnyofficial) May 4, 2023
AOC is pushing for some of those peaceful protests…
— Blondie… The Vanilla Villain (@Calamityjane77) May 4, 2023
Some made the point that even if this was illegal, this kind of thing is predictable:
When police create an enforcement vacuum, criminals and vigilantes will fill it. Dems do not understand this or, maybe they do and that's the plan?
— Stosh (@STL019) May 4, 2023
You wanted defunded police and community intervention in blue cities. You got it. https://t.co/Doaalbj8oS
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 4, 2023
Here’s hoping that justice is done in this case. But we are not optimistic when the D.A. is Alvin Bragg.
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