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Subway rider who put Jordan Neely in chokehold offers condolences, says he was protecting himself and others
By
Matt Katz
Published May 5, 2023
Modified May 5, 2023
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By
Matt Katz
Published May 5, 2023
Modified May 5, 2023
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Lawyers for Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old man who put Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold on an F train train Monday, said he never intended harm, but was defending himself.
Penny, who grew up in Long Island and served in the Marines, offered condolences to those close to Neely in a statement released through his attorneys, Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff. But the attorneys said Neely, who was homeless, had a “documented history of violent and erratic behavior.” The statement said “when Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived.”
“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely & could not have foreseen his untimely death,” the statement read. It concluded with a call for “elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”
Penny, whose identity was only confirmed Friday, has not been charged with a crime, but the NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have confirmed they are investigating the incident that led to Neely’s death.
Neely, 30, was apparently experiencing a mental health crisis and acting erratically on the train that Penny was riding, according to a Facebook post, later removed, by a freelance journalist who was on the train. Penny held Neely in a chokehold on the ground for several minutes, according to video of the encounter posted by Juan Alberto Vazquez. The Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide.
Penny’s attorneys are Reiser and Thomas Kenniff. Kenniff recently represented an NYPD union boss who pleaded guilty to stealing members’ money. He also ran an unsuccessful campaign against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in the 2021 election.
Leading the investigation is Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass, a senior prosecutor who most recently helped to secure the felony conviction of the Trump Organization, according to Bragg spokesperson Doug Cohen.
Steinglass is one of the office’s go-to lawyers on high-profile, violent crimes. He secured the convictions of two white supremacist Proud Boys for a violent 2019 brawl, and of an undercover police officer for a 2015 motorcycle assault on the West Side Highway.
Penny graduated from West Islip High School in 2016, according to the school’s yearbook. He was a lacrosse player, according to his former coach, Scott Craig.
“All I can tell you is with my contact with Dan, he was a very, very hardworking, great, great kid who really believed in the team,” Craig said. “Nothing but positive things to say about him as a young man. Obviously it was a number of years ago.”
He added: “I wish Dan the best of luck and hopefully they found that he was just trying to do something in a positive fashion when a very negative thing happened.”
Penny enlisted in the Marines in 2017, according to an official at the Marine Corps recruiting station in Queens. He was a non commissioned officer, according to Reiser, and was honorably discharged. He is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in architecture, Reiser said.
It’s unclear if others on the train are under investigation, including two other men who, based on the video, appeared to be helping Penny restrain Neely.
Samantha Max, Bahar Ostadan, Caroline Lewis, Ann Givens, Brittany Kriegstein and David Brand contributed to this report.
This story has been updated to include comment from Daniel Penny through his lawyers.
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Alvin Bragg
death
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Matt Katz
Matt Katz is a former WNYC & Gothamist reporter.
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