Two weeks after a Marine vet choked a mentally disturbed homeless man to death on the subway, Mayor Adams advised New Yorkers to call 911 or 311 if they encounter a situation involving someone in a similar state of emotional distress.
“Everyday New Yorkers — they should call the 311 or 911 system if a person is doing something extremely dangerous,” he said during a Tuesday morning interview on NY1. “Proper personnel could respond, and that includes mental health professionals, and in those cases where it’s needed, a law enforcement professional.
“It’s the combination of the two that’s going to ensure a person can get the care that they need.”
Adams and his administration have remained silent for weeks about what everyday straphangers should do if confronted with a situation similar to the one that former Marine Daniel Penny and other passengers faced on May 1 when Jordan Neely, a homeless man known for his Michael Jackson impersonations, began menacing people on an F train.
Penny put Neely in a chokehold from behind for several minutes, which resulted in the city medical examiner classifying Neely’s death as a homicide and Penny being charged by the Manhattan district attorney with second-degree manslaughter.
Penny’s lawyers have argued he acted in self-defense.
Adams was asked about Neely’s death and subway safety on both NY1 and PIX11 Tuesday morning. During his interview on PIX11, he offered a slightly different response, saying that straphangers should “call 911 all the time” if confronted with someone acting dangerously.
“If it’s just a person that’s sleeping on a platform, you call 311 and the proper personnel would come to make sure we give them the needed services,” he added.
But Adams had little to say when asked Tuesday about the more than $1 million that’s been raised for the legal defense fund of Penny. He also didn’t respond when asked about his rationale for remaining relatively silent on Penny, given the fact that he’s publicly discussed pending criminal cases on several other occasions.
When asked about Penny’s legal defense fund, the mayor sidestepped the question, saying that “right now we should allow this case to move forward with our criminal justice system.”
“It’s up to the district attorney to determine exactly how that is going to take place,” he added. “My heart is to the family and my heart is to the people of this city … anytime I lose a New Yorker in this city, I take it personal.”
Adams has refrained from condemning Penny publicly. Last week, he attempted to explain his silence on the case, saying that any comments he makes about Penny could taint the prosecution against him.
But Adams didn’t appear to have similar concerns Tuesday while appearing next to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez to announce criminal charges against dozens of alleged gang members.
“They are dangerous people,” Adams said of the defendants, many of whom face murder charges.
Councilwoman Tiffany Caban (D-Queens) said the mayor needs to broaden his view of what public safety means and who is dangerous.
“The way the mayor talks, some people deserve safety, protection and due process, and others don’t,” she said. “When we talk about ‘public safety,’ we need to mean everybody. Jordan Neely was a member of the public, as well. He deserved safety, as well.”
Adams’ Tuesday remarks about alleged gang members aren’t the first time the mayor has weighed in publicly about a high-profile criminal case.
Last July, after 35-year-old Austin Simon was knifed to death by Harlem bodega clerk Jose Alba, the mayor spoke up for the clerk, saying at the time that he acted in self-defense. And in March, comments from Adams and police brass on pending cases resulted in a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruling the city violated the law when Adams, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell and the department’s Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri cited hundreds of sealed arrests of 10 New Yorkers at a press conference.
Asked by the Us.Mistertruth why he feels comfortable condemning alleged gang members but not someone accused of manslaughter, Adams demurred.
“Thank you for your question,” he said. “Let’s stay focused.”