Daniel J. Penny Releases Statement On Jordan Neely's Death

The white marine who dragged a hungry and thirsty homeless Black man down and held him in a chokehold until he lost consciousness and died, has issued a statement claiming that he “intended no harm”—despite him literally doing something harmful and, clearly, deadly.

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Daniel J. Penny, 24, has been identified as the subway rider who put Jordan Neely, 30, in a chokehold, according to law enforcement officials and according to Penny himself whose identity was confirmed in a statement via attorneys Steven M. Raiser and Thomas A. Kenniff.

The lawyers said their client “never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.” They also blamed city officials for the lack of proactive response to mental illness.

“Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness,” reads the statement as reported by NBC News.

“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,” the lawyers wrote in the statement.

“For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference,” the Raiser and Kenniff law firm continued on behalf of Penny. “We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”

Meanwhile, Neely’s family rightfully isn’t buying it, and they’re alleging that the vigilante killer had no regard for their loved one’s life.

“Daniel Penny’s press release is not an apology nor an expression of regret,” said a statement from, Donte Mills and Lennon Edwards, the attorneys representing Neely’s family.

“It is a character assassination and a clear example of why he believed he was entitled to take Jordan‘s life,” said the attorneys who noted that Penny could not have known of Neely’s mental health struggles before applying a chokehold.

“The truth is, he knew nothing about Jordan’s history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan’s neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing.”

“He never attempted to help him at all. In short, his actions on the train and now his words, show why he needs to be in prison.”

NewsOne reports that the family didn’t just have smoke for Penny, however, they also outright called out NYC Mayor Eric Adams and urged him to “please give them a call,” emphasizing that the “family wants you to know that Jordan matters.”

The statement didn’t stop there when it came to Adams.

“You seem to think others are more important than him,” the statement said before accurately concluding with: “You cannot ‘assist’ someone with a chokehold.”

The last line was referencing Mayor Adams previously saying on CNN that there are “so many cases where passengers assist other riders.”

“We don’t know exactly what happened here so we should let the investigation takes its course,” said the Mayor much to the family’s chagrin.

Source: Andrew Lichtenstein / Getty

13 Arrested During Jordan Neely Protests

Over the weekend, protesters were arrested for bringing train traffic to a halt by standing on subway tracks in response to a lack of charges against Penny.

About 13 people were arrested in connection with protests Saturday at Manhattan’s Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street stop.

Source: Andrew Lichtenstein / Getty

The NYPD is looking for six more people they want to question in what they call a criminal trespass case. The head of NYC transit, Richard Davey, has spoken out and he’s calling protesters’ actions “dangerous, reckless and life-threatening,” reports NBC New York. 

 

“Jumping on tracks is dangerous, reckless and can be life threatening,” said Davey in a statement about the estimated 100 protesters at the station. “While peaceful protest has always been part of American fabric, endangering transit workers and other responders, while also delaying New Yorkers just trying to get where they need to go, by deliberately risking contact with an electrified third rail, is unacceptable.”

In related news, a Change.org petition has been launched demanding that the former marine be arrested.

Started by former USMC infantryman and combat veteran, Gabriel Murphy, the petition states that “the individual [Penny] knew, or should have known, that their actions would reasonably cause the death of Mr. Neely and should be prosecuted for murder.” Murphy also calls for fellow members of the military to join him in “disavowing the actions of this individual.”

“The individual is identified as a former Marine,” reads the petition. “All Marines are trained to the tan belt level in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) during basic training.

MCMAP is governed by USMC publication MCRP 3-02B, which includes the techniques taught at each level of the program. The MCMAP tan belt includes training on rear chokes, including an explicit admonition that rear chokes can be lethal and that an effective choke should take 8-13 seconds. The descriptions and video available indicate that the choke was maintained for much longer than 13 seconds and continued after Mr. Neely ceased to offer resistance.”

So far, the petition has reached nearly 3,000 signatures.

Source: Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty