The man who used a fatal chokehold on Jordan Neely, an unruly passenger aboard a New York City subway train, will face a criminal charge nearly two weeks after the incident sparked protests and demands for stronger mental health supports.
Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran, will be arrested and face a charge of second-degree manslaughter, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office told Global News.
“We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow,” the office said in a statement Thursday.
The charge could carry a jail term of up to 15 years.
Penny was seen on video and by several witnesses on May 1 pinning fellow subway rider Neely to the floor of the subway car, where he put Neely in a chokehold that lasted for several minutes.
According to a freelance journalist who witnessed the struggle, Neely, who is Black, had been screaming and begging for money aboard the train prior to the takedown, but had not physically attacked anyone.
When the train arrived at the Broadway-Lafayette subway stop, Neely, 30, was unconscious in the chokehold. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.
The New York City chief medical examiner has ruled Neely’s death a homicide. His cause of death was determined to be “compression of neck” or a “chokehold.”
Attorneys for Penny, who is white, have said their client and two other riders who helped restrain Neely acted in self-defence.
“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” they said in a statement. The lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the charges.
Neely’s death has divided some in New York and beyond, triggering intense debates and protests. Left-leaning advocates described the killing as an act of racist vigilantism. Some defenders of Perry in right-wing media have pointed to the incident as an example of the necessity for average citizens to protect themselves in the absence of police, who critics argue are being stretched thin by rising crime.
Others, including Mayor Eric Adams, have urged caution, calling on New Yorkers to wait for the full facts and investigations. They note that much is still not known about what precipitated the chokehold.
Adams this week called Neely’s death “a tragedy that never should have happened” and pledged to do more to help people experiencing mental health crises.
— with files from Sarah Do Couto and The Associated Press
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