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Manhattan DA drops misdemeanor charges against people who protested Jordan Neely killing
By
Samantha Max
Published Jun 23, 2023
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Meir Chaimowitz / Shutterstock
By
Samantha Max
Published Jun 23, 2023
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The Manhattan district attorney’s office has dropped all misdemeanor charges against protesters arrested after the killing of Jordan Neely on the subway last month.
Prosecutors said they were dismissing the cases “in the interest of justice” following a “thorough investigation,” including reviewing video footage of the protesters.
The DA’s office said the cases are now sealed but it is still pursuing charges against three people accused of committing felonies during the protests.
One faces a criminal tampering charge for allegedly jumping up and down on the subway tracks during high-traffic hours, forcing officials to turn off electricity and stop running trains for about 48 minutes, according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors said another protester “forcibly shut” a door on an NYPD inspector’s arm, causing “bruising and substantial pain.” A third person is accused of hitting an officer in the back of the head multiple times, according to court papers.
Police arrested more than a dozen people at protests in the days after Daniel Penny, a white subway rider, fatally choked Neely, a Black homeless man, on an uptown F train. Penny, who has been indicted on a manslaughter charge, has said that Neely was making threats and scaring other subway riders. Little is known about exactly what transpired in the moments leading up to a viral video that captured Penny with his arms around Neely’s neck on the floor of the subway car.
News of Neely’s killing sparked outrage and calls for more affordable housing and mental health services. .
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Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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