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A former U.S. Marine who killed a homeless man acting erratically on a New York City subway after putting him in a chokehold to subdue him was taken into custody at a police precinct on Friday and was expected to be arraigned on a manslaughter charge.
A viral video showed the former Marine, identified as Daniel Penny, putting 30-year-old Jordan Neely in a chokehold on May 1 while they rode on the F train in Manhattan. Neely died from compression of the neck, the medical examiner said, but Penny’s lawyers said he did not mean to kill him and was instead acting as a Good Samaritan to protect the well-being of others.
Neely was known to impersonate Michael Jackson in the subway system, but had also shown repeated signs of severe mental illness. He was identified as a repeat offender who had been arrested over 40 times prior to his untimely death.
According to witnesses, Neely was acting aggressively toward passengers while saying he was hungry and ready to die when Penny came up behind him and gripped him around the neck. Penny restrained him on the floor of the subway car until he appeared to stop moving. Neely was later declared dead.
Penny, 24, surrendered to police at the 5th Precinct in southeastern Manhattan on Friday, according to a Reuters witness. He is to be arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on one count of second-degree manslaughter, the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Thursday.
A bystander’s video of Neely’s death garnered national attention and revived a debate among New Yorkers about crime in the subway and what to do with the growing number of homeless people in the city. It has also been a lightning rod, sparking arguments over what constitutes as self-defense.
The killing, and a delay by prosecutors in charging Penny, sparked protests, with many liberals saying the incident amounted to a “lynching” and an example of “white vigilantism” against people of color. Neely was Black and Penny is white. However, many conservatives say that the arraignment is another instance of Democrats betraying those who try to uphold the rule of law.
Former NFL player and Senate candidate, Jake Bequette said that the charges show that Democratic political leaders have “betrayed” those who intervene in the face of “evil.”
To every Daniel Penny out there who sees evil in a blue city and wants to intervene: don’t do it.
Your political leaders have already betrayed you, and you don’t have any rights.
It goes against every instinct in your bones, but you must have discipline. Tactical withdrawal. https://t.co/h8UUHxlZhV
— Jake Bequette (@JakeBequette91) May 11, 2023
A GiveSendGo account has already raised over $200,000 to “to pay Mr. Penny’s legal fees.”
In a statement from his legal team, Penny expressed “condolences to those close to Mr. Neely.”
“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” the statement said.
Video from the incident shows that Penny put Neely in a recovery position after he had passed out.
An attorney for Neely’s family said in a statement on Monday that Penny’s actions on the train and his words show that “he needs to be in prison.”
A spate of attacks on train passengers last year, particularly Asian Americans, prompted Adams to increase police patrols and expand outreach to the mentally ill in the subway system, citing rising homelessness in the wake of the pandemic.
Following the killing, many city residents have said they feel threatened by homeless and mentally ill people in the transit system. That population surged during the pandemic as New Yorkers with homes avoided the subway, and those with no place to live sought refuge outside the confines of shelters.
Copyright 2023 Thomson/Reuters. Additions and edits for FISM News by Michael Cardinal