Helping the family of Jordan Neely cope with the violent death of a loved one is, sadly, nothing new for Rev. Dr. Johnnie M. Green Jr.
The Harlem pastor delivered the eulogy for Neely’s mother, who was murdered by her boyfriend 16 years ago.
Now he is arranging the funeral for her son, killed in a chokehold on a Manhattan subway train on May 1.
“I’ve been pastoring this family for 17 years now,” Green said Sunday as he stood outside Mt. Neboh Baptist Church on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.
These days, he said: “I’ve been in constant contact with them on a daily basis, offering them words of hope and words of encouragement and trying to help them to make sense out of nonsense and trying to give them scriptural support and prayers to help them to turn tragedy into triumph.”
Services for Neely are planned for Friday morning at Mt. Neboh.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who is longtime friends with Neely’s aunt Mildred Mahazu, will deliver the eulogy, said Green, who plans to officiate.
Neely’s relatives had no special requests for the service, “but they do want justice for their loved one, and rightfully so,” Green said.
“Justice means bringing to justice the individual who perpetrated and caused the death of Jordan Neely,” he added.
Daniel Penny, 24, a Marine caught on video placing Neely in a chokehold aboard a Manhattan subway train, is charged with second-degree manslaughter.
He surrendered to police on Friday and was released on $100,000 bond.
Witnesses told police Neely was making threats and scaring passengers on a northbound F train. The 30-year-old homeless man had a history of mental illness and a lengthy arrest record.
Penny approached him from behind and put him in a chokehold for several minutes, witnesses told cops. Cellphone video showed Neely struggling before he stopped moving.
“Jordan should not be dead now, because he wasn’t attacking anybody on the subway,” the pastor said. “He was literally doing what he did as a homeless person and…
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