Marine veteran who fatally choked NYC subway rider Jordan Neely is freed pending trial
NEW YORK — A U.S. Marine veteran who placed an agitated New York City subway passenger in a chokehold, killing him and sparking outrage as bystander video went viral, surrendered Friday on a manslaughter charge filed nearly two weeks after the deadly encounter.
Daniel Penny, 24, was freed pending trial hours after turning himself in at a police station and appearing in court to answer criminal charges in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former subway performer with a history of mental illness. Penny did not enter a plea.
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Neely’s death prompted protests, while others embraced Penny as a vigilante hero. His lawyers have said he was acting in self-defense. Lawyers for Neely’s family said Neely wasn’t harming anyone and didn’t deserve to die. An autopsy ruled Neely’s death a homicide due to compression of the neck.
“Jordan Neely should still be alive today,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
A judge authorized Penny’s release on $100,000 bond and ordered him to surrender his passport and not to leave New York without approval. Prosecutors said they are seeking a grand jury indictment. Penny is due back in court on July 17.
Penny didn’t speak to reporters. At a brief arraignment, Penny faced straight ahead, his hands cuffed. He spoke softly, offering one-word answers to Judge Kevin McGrath as his lawyer, Steve Raiser, placed an arm around his shoulder. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said Neely had been making threats and “scaring passengers” when Penny approached him from behind and placed him in a chokehold. Penny “continued to hold Mr. Neely in the chokehold for several minutes,” even after he stopped moving, Steinglass said.
A freelance journalist who recorded Neely struggling to free himself, then lapsing into unconsciousness, said he had been shouting at passengers and begging for money aboard the train but had not gotten physical with anyone. Penny pinned Neely to the floor of the subway car with the help of two other passengers and held him in a chokehold.
Neely’s death has raised an uproar over many issues, including how the city treats people with mental illness, as well as crime, race and vigilantism.
Police questioned Penny, who is white, in the aftermath but released him without charges. Neely was Black.
Thomas Kenniff, a lawyer for Penny, said he didn’t mean to harm Neely and is dealing with the situation with the “integrity and honor that is characteristic of who he is and characteristic of his honorable service in the United States Marine Corps.”
