NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 In the polarizing wake of Jordan Neely鈥檚 chokehold death at the hands of a fellow New York City subway rider, there has been a 鈥渄istortion of values,鈥 Rev. Al Sharpton said Friday in eulogizing the former subway performer at his funeral.
Neely, who had been struggling with mental illness and homelessness in recent years, 鈥渨as screaming for help,鈥 Sharpton told a crowd of relatives, friends and elected officials. They gathered at Harlem鈥檚 Mount Neboh Baptist Church to mourn the 30-year-old man, whose May 1 death set off a debate about vigilantism, homelessness and public safety.
People having mental health problems 鈥渄on鈥檛 need abuse,鈥 he said, chastising people including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has spoken out in support of Daniel Penny, the man who put him in the chokehold. The potential Republican presidential candidate has called Penny a 鈥済ood Samaritan鈥 and shared a fund-raising link for Penny鈥檚 legal defense, which has raised more than $2 million.
Sharpton said the Biblical parable of the good Samaritan is about coming to the aid of someone in need.
鈥淎 good Samaritan helps those in trouble,鈥 Sharpton said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 choke him out.鈥
Sharpton added, 鈥淲hat happened to Jordan was a crime and this family shouldn鈥檛 have to stand by themselves.鈥
Elected officials including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado were among the mourners attending the funeral, held at the same church where Neely鈥檚 mother, Christie Neely, was eulogized after she was murdered when Nelly was 14.
Neely鈥檚 last moments were recorded on video by an onlooker who said he had been yelling at other passengers as he begged for money, but hadn鈥檛 attacked anyone.
by the Manhattan district attorney last week. Penny鈥檚 lawyers say he was acting to protect himself and other passengers after Neely made threatening statements.
Neely鈥檚 death and Penny鈥檚 subsequent arrest divided New Yorkers and people beyond, with some saying Penny, who is white, was too quick to use deadly force on a Black man who posed no real threat, and others saying the 24-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran shouldn't be punished for trying to protect people on the train.
The criminal justice system has also come under criticism for Penny initially being released after Neely鈥檚 death. Sharpton said that if the races of the men had been reversed, with a white man dying at a Black man鈥檚 hands, authorities 鈥渨ould not have let that Black guy leave the precinct that night.鈥
While Neely had a history of disruptive behavior 鈥 he had been arrested many times and pleaded guilty this year to assaulting a stranger 鈥 friends and relatives said they don鈥檛 believe he would have harmed anyone had Penny just left him alone.
Sharpton, standing in front of a white casket with a flower arrangement on top, also condemned government policies and social service systems that he said had let Neely down and needed to be reformed.
鈥淲hen they choked Jordan, they put their arms around all of us,鈥 he said. 鈥淎ll of us have the right to live.鈥
