The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirmed Wednesday it was investigating the death of a disturbed homeless man placed in a chokehold by a straphanger on a train this week.
Prosecutors’ probe includes whether to pursue charges against the passenger, who stepped in when Jordan Neely, 30, went on an aggressive rant on an F train in lower Manhattan Monday afternoon, according to authorities and witnesses.
“We have an ongoing investigation,” a spokesman for DA Alvin Bragg said.
The straphanger, who sources said is a 24-year-old Marine veteran, was taken into custody after the deadly encounter and then released without criminal charges. He declined to comment when reached by The Post on Tuesday.
Outrage grew over the deadly encounter Wednesday after disturbing footage emerged showing the vigilante holding Neely in a headlock as another rider helped pin the man down on the train floor.
Neely passed out and could not be revived by EMS, police said.
Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist who filmed video of the shocking incident, told The Post Neely was unhinged, yelling at riders that he didn’t have food or drinks and “doesn’t care if he goes to jail.” Police previously said he had been threatening other riders and throwing garbage at them.
The straphanger then approached the homeless man from behind and took him to the ground with a chokehold for around 15 minutes, Vazquez and police said.
Cops said Neely had been living on the streets and had a recorded history of mental illness.
Police sources said authorities are waiting for an autopsy to rule out another cause of death, such as a heart attack, before potentially moving forward with charges.
City Comptroller Brad Lander decried the fatal incident, tweeting, “NYC is not Gotham.”
“We must not become a city where a mentally ill human being can be choked to death by a vigilante without consequence. Or where the killer is justified & cheered.”
Dave Giffen, the executive director of Coalition for the Homeless, pointed the finger at Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, calling the incident an “absolute travesty”
“This horrific incident is yet another reminder of Governor Hochuls’ and Mayor Adams’ complete failure to provide the critical mental health services desperately needed by so many people in our city,” Giffen said.
“What’s more, the fact that someone who took the life of a distressed, mentally-ill human being on a subway could be set free without facing any consequences is shocking, and evidences the City’s callous indifference to the lives of those who are homeless and psychiatrically unwell.”
Additional reporting by Nolan Hicks