Daniel Penny to be charged with second-degree manslaughter in Jordan Neely’s death

Charges in Jordan Neely NYC subway chokehold death - The Washington Post

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.

“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 spokesman 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 helped restrain him, video recorded by Vazquez shows. Neely, video shows, flailed his arms, kicked his legs and struggled to free himself before Penny released him and put him on his side.

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 moonwalking Michael Jackson impersonator who had been placed in foster care after his mother was murdered when Neely was 14, Gothamist reported. Public records listed the Bronx as his address.

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 by 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 agencies investigating the events.

“To be clear: the Marine Corps is not confirming any detail of any video you may have seen nor are we confirming any individual was involved,” the spokesperson said in an unsigned email responding to a query. “We are merely confirming that a person with the name you’ve presented us has served in the Marine Corps.”

Neely’s death generated outrage among some public officials. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called the incident “disgusting” and labeled the man who placed Neely in the chokehold a “murderer.” The Rev. Al Sharpton had also urged authorities to pursue manslaughter or murder charges.

New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. He told The Post on May 4 that he would refrain from commenting while officials investigating the matter. “However, we do know that there were serious mental health issues in play here,” Adams said.

Subway safety has been a focus of Adams, who in the fall placed 1,200 additional overtime police officers at subway stations during peak hours. Tim Minton, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, told The Post that reported crime in the subway system fell 6.6 percent from Jan. 1 to April 23, compared the same period in 2022.

Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Kyle Rempfer contributed to this report.