Marine Daniel Penny “never intended to harm” Jordan Neely when he placed the homeless man into a deadly chokehold on a Manhattan subway, he said in a statement through his lawyers Friday.
Penny’s attorneys argued in the statement that he was acting in self-defense during the fatal encounter with Neely aboard an uptown F train Monday.
“Mr. Neely had a documented history of violence and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness,” his lawyers Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff wrote.
“When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived. Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” the statement said.
The 24-year-old intervened when Neely started ranting on the train, threatening passengers and throwing trash at them while asking for food, according to police and witnesses.
Penny held the homeless man — who struggled with mental health issues since his mother’s murder over a decade ago — in a choke hold while two other commuters helped to restrain Neely’s flailing limbs.
Shocking video captured the incident, including the moment Neely, 30, lost consciousness in Penny’s arms.
The city medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide, noting he died due to “compression of neck (chokehold).”
What we know about NYC subway choking victim Jordan Neely
Who was Neely?
Jordan Neely, 30, a homeless man, was strangled aboard a northbound F train just before 2:30 p.m. May 1, according to police.
He reportedly started acting erratically on the train and harassing other passengers before being restrained and ultimately choked by a straphanger, identified as Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old former Marine from Queens.
Penny, who was seen on video applying the chokehold, was taken into custody and later released. He was eventually charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Why is there fallout over Neely’s death?
The city medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide, noting he died due to “compression of neck (chokehold).”
Neely’s aunt told The Post that he became a “complete mess” following the brutal murder of his mother in 2007. She noted he was schizophrenic and suffered from PTSD and depression.
“The whole system just failed him. He fell through the cracks of the system,” Carolyn Neely said.
Who is Penny?
24-year-old former Marine Daniel Penny served as an infantry squad leader and an instructor in water survival while in the Marines Corps from 2017 to 2021, according to his online resume. Penny graduated from high school in West Islip, NY.
He surrendered to authorities 11 days after he placed Neely in a fatal chokehold on an F train.
Penny — who was in the Marine Corps from 2017 to 2021 — was taken into custody but released shortly after without being charged.
Neely, who suffered from PTSD and depression, had a long history of mental health struggles and had “numerous” arrests on his record and more than a dozen run-ins with police throughout the years.
“The whole system just failed him. He fell through the cracks of the system,” his aunt, Carolyn Neely, told The Post Thursday.
Penny’s lawyers said they 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.”
Law enforcement sources said a grand jury could be called by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as early as next week to determine whether to bring down an indictment.
