Thread by @taliaotg

I’m en route and will be live-reporting the vigil for #JordanNeely.

Apologies in advance for typos, dropped words.

https://twitter.com/taliaotg/status/1653790937493958656

Be further advised that when I’m reporting I’m prone to not see messages/DMs until after I’m away; apologies in advance for delays in responding.

Happening now: I’m on the northbound F train platform, where people are expected to gather for a vigil for #JordanNeely.

It seems someone already visited this platform, leaving an ominous message.

Several white shirts have arrived to the platform, seemed flustered, decided “this is fine.”

Soon after, many more showed up, including anti-terrorism. Mood is angry, and the police presence, and their escalatory behavior, is intensifying it.

An alt-right troll attempted (twice) to enter the crowd and was ejected. One cop rolled his eyes at another cop before thanking a vigil attendee for their help blocking him from gaining access to the larger group.

An unknown scuffle leads to people chanting “let them go!” and for a white shirt named McGinn to walk right into me and some others, putting us at risk of falling.

No one detained, or fallen into the tracks.

Crowd began chanting. The police response to this is absurd.

Someone made a custom candle of #JordanNeely for the vigil, which is more like a protest, for him.

Noticed a member of the press was stuck on the opposite side of the protest/vigil.

Asked him, across the police line, why he was being denied. He said “safety reasons.” I asked the cop standing in front of him if he could elaborate, then cops tried to forcefully eject me??

NYPD at the middle of the platform are substantially more hostile & aggressive than anywhere else.

They’ve got flex cuffs out, anti-terrorism, and have a full police line they’re enforcing.

Further down the platform (‘behind’ the protest), totally different story. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Someone remarked that the cops toward the mid of the platform “haven’t seen any action since 2020” and that’s why they’re being more aggressive.

Spoke with an NYPD Legal who’s familiar with protests, agreed that the protestors are responding to the tone NYPD is setting.

Protest has moved off the platform and quickly up to the upper level. On attempting to exit the subway, NYPD used the emergency exit to enter.

“NYPD is blocking the exit — and blocking justice!”

Once SRG entered the station, protestors slammed the emergency exit on them.

“Hope you liked that!”
“I did”

Some trash in the street, as someone yells to passersby “A white vigilante murdered a black homeless man, and the NYPD didn’t do anything.”

I have no idea what was going on, but I noticed NYPD moved toward the side of the protest and were picking up speed. Someone starts telling them to leave people alone, then one — the same who aggressed on me — runs toward a boutique, arrests som one inside.

Massive chaos. SRG ran into the crowd from the back, resulting in pushing, shoving, people getting stuck between layers of cops and shoved some more, pushed down, then grabbed while trying to help each other get up.

3 arrests here. Nothing unlawful.

Following 4 arrests for reasons I can’t figure out from witnessing it nor reviewing, protestors are told to retreat, the only people around the van are photogs.

Crowd chants “Say his name! Jordan Neely!” while moving away.

SRG briefly played a recorded message stating that people could not block pedestrian traffic or be in the roadway. This came *after* making arrests.

At the back of the protest, a bicyclist waited in front of scooter cops that followed the march too closely. This is a common tactic to give breathing room.

This time, I observed a scooter bump into her bike as she stood. Then she got back on her bike, was chased, pulled off.

Worth noting TONS of cops I don’t recognize from SRG, Community Affairs. The ones I didn’t recognize are the ones who kept aggressing.

Again: NYPD was setting the tone. This was supposed to be a vigil. They showed up dense, aggro, blocked egress. Suddenly, vigil becomes chaos.

Following this, the march got far enough away that it was able to disperse safely.

5 people arrested by a sloppy NYPD that repeatedly instigated.

They let a man go who choked someone for 15 minutes but violently arrested people who…got stuck in a mob rush they caused.

Jail support is now at the 7th Precinct, where friends & family bring water, snacks, sometimes buy pizza or coffee carafes to share as they wait for their loved ones to be released.

Based on what I saw, can’t imagine charges other than vapid misdemeanors like “discon” or “oga.”

Ending live coverage on the note that I haven’t witnessed NYPD be so inexplicably, preemptively aggressive and hostile in a few years.

Even Nikas, who showed up late, was confused by the chaos, the choices they made, the unfamiliar faces.

They could’ve let this just be a vigil.