Jordan Neely was “screaming for help”, the Rev Al Sharpton told friends, family members and civil rights leaders gathered to mourn the former Michael Jackson impersonator who died on the New York subway system.
Neely, who had been struggling with mental illness and lacking housing in recent years, was killed when passengers restrained him. A fellow subway rider pinned him to the floor of a subway car in a chokehold that lasted several minutes, and Neely’s death has set off a fresh debate about vigilantism, homelessness, racism and public safety in the city.