Protesters stand on subway tracks in Manhattan, stopping trains and brawls with police in protest

Protestors brought part of the New York City subway system in Manhattan to a halt by venturing out onto the tracks as they expressed anger over Jordan Neely’s death by chokehold by a US Marine earlier this week.

Photos and videos show the protest group taking control of the Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street subway stop on the Upper East Side, bringing trains to a complete standstill.

Several individuals even went out onto the tracks close to the electrified third rail.

Protesters stand in the trains tracks at the Lexington Ave/63rd Street subway station during a “Justice for Jordan Neely” protest on Saturday evening

People are arrested by NYPD as they take part in a protest concerning the death of Jordan Neely at Lexington Av/63 St subway in Manhattan

Some of the protesters standing on the tracks held protest signs.

One person could be seen standing on top of the protective covering that shields the electrified third rail, which normally carries 600 volts of electricity.

Police made numerous arrests as trains on the F and Q line were stopped for almost an hour from 6:15pm. Service is said to have resumed by 7pm.

Back on the surface, on street level one black man could be heard shouting ‘I can’t breathe’, as he was placed in cuffs, despite no NYPD officer applying any kind of force to his chest or face.

The death of Neely, 30, on Monday has stoked an outcry over the lack of city support for those suffering from mental illness and homelessness.

NYPD officers arrested protestors in the Lexington Ave/63rd Street subway station

Activists are demanding that charges be filed against the Marine veteran at the center of the disturbing video that sees Neely in a chokehold on the floor of a northbound F train.

Neely died from compression of the neck, the city’s medical examiner determined on Wednesday.

On Monday afternoon, he was yelling while pacing back and forth on a train in Manhattan when he was restrained by at least three people, including the Marine veteran who pulled one arm tightly around his neck.

A physical struggle ensued which saw Neely lose consciousness.

He was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Neely is recognizable to some New Yorkers as a Michael Jackson impersonator who regularly danced in the Times Square transit hub.

The former Marine who put homeless man Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on the NYC subway has been formally identified as Daniel J. Penny (right)

Jordan Neely, 30, was a Michael Jackson impersonator whose mental health deteriorated in recent years, according to his family

The Marine in question, Daniel Penny, 24, has not been charged with a crime in relation to Neely’s death.

Multiple reports suggest that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg may convene a grand jury and pursue criminal charges as early as next week.

In the statement, Penny’s lawyers say that the Long Island-native ‘could not have foreseen [Neely’s] untimely death.’ It also said that Penny was merely trying to restrain Neely, who was accused of being disruptive on board an F train, until the police arrived.

Neely’s attorneys also took aim at ‘elected officials’ calling on them to ‘address the mental health crisis on our streets on subways.’

Former Marine Daniel Penny has been questioned by police in relation to Neely’s death but has not been charged with a crime

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk