Jordan Neely remembered in emotional homegoing service

Stay connected via Google News

Follow us for the latest updates from Unheard Voices

Jordan Neely, the 30-year-old man who died after being put in a chokehold on a New York City subway, was laid to rest in an emotional homegoing service.

Jordan Neely remembered at emotional funeral

Friends, family members and civil rights leaders gathered at a Harlem church on Friday to mourn Neely, whose chokehold death set off a debate about vigilantism, homelessness, mental health and public safety.

The Rev. Al Sharpton eulogized Neely, whose family described him as a promising young man devastated by his mother’s murder and failed by the mental health system.

They acknowledged he suffered from mental illness and battled his own “demons,” but say he never physically touched anyone — and certainly didn’t deserve to die on the floor of the subway train by the hands of Daniel Penny.

Sharpton told attendees at Harlem’s Mount Neboh Baptist Church that Neely’s life should be celebrated, “but we should not ignore how he died.”

He further added Neely died “not because of natural causes but because of unnatural policies.”

Daniel Penny charged

Penny was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter more than a week after the medical examiner’s office ruled Neely’s death a homicide.

Protests erupted immediately after Neely’s death on May 1, calling the attention to racial injustice, mental healthcare, and homelessness. Neely, who was homeless, often rode the subway and was known impersonate Michael Jackson.

Penny was released after posting $100,000 bail. He was also ordered to surrender his passport within 48 hours of arraignment and not to leave the state of New York.

His next court date is scheduled for July 17.