N.Y. MAN TO BE CHARGED IN SUBWAY KILLING
New York City prosecutors plan to charge the man who was filmed putting Jordan Neely, 30, into a fatal chokehold with second-degree manslaughter, after Neely’s death was ruled a homicide by New York’s chief medical examiner.
Video of the May 1 fatal chokehold sparked outrage from public officials and protests demanding that Daniel Penny, 24, who was questioned by authorities and released shortly after the incident, be charged in Neely’s death. The city’s medical examiner ruled the incident a homicide on May 3.
“We can confirm that Daniel Penny will be arrested on a charge of Manslaughter in the Second Degree,” reads a statement sent by Doug Cohen, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. “We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow.”
Penny placed Neely, who was screaming and behaving erratically, in a chokehold for several minutes, according to a witness and video of the encounter.
Shortly after 2 p.m. on the day of the incident, Neely walked into the F train at the Second Avenue station and began shouting that he was hungry and thirsty, said freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was aboard the train and recorded the fatal chokehold.
“I don’t have food, I don’t have a drink, I’m fed up,” the man screamed, according to Vazquez. “I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I’m ready to die.”
Vazquez said Neely then “removed his jacket and aggressively whipped it to the floor” of the train. As Neely started shouting, much of the subway car cleared out, Vazquez said.
That’s when Penny pinned Neely to the ground and placed him in a chokehold while two other passengers restrained him, video recorded by Vazquez shows. Neely, video shows, flailed his arms, kicked his legs and struggled to free himself before Penny released him.
Neely, who appeared unconscious at the conclusion of the video, was pronounced dead at the hospital, authorities said.
Neely used to perform on the subway as a Michael Jackson impersonator. He had been placed in foster care after his mother was murdered when Neely was 14, Gothamist reported.
Authorities have not said how long he had been in the chokehold, but Vasquez wrote on Facebook that the men were in that position “for about 15 minutes” while bystanders and the train operator called the police.
Days after the incident, Penny, whom authorities did not identify then, released a statement saying that he acted in self-defense after Neely “aggressively” threatened him and other passengers. In the three paragraphs released on May 6 by his lawyers, Penny, a college student and Marine veteran, said that he “never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”
Penny served in the Marines as a rifleman from 2017 to 2021, reaching the rank of sergeant, according to records provided by the service. A Marine Corps spokesperson said in an email that the service is aware of the incident involving Penny and will cooperate, if asked, with the investigating agencies.