A picture of Jordan Neely seen as protesters gather at a “Justice for Jordan Neely” rally in Washington Square Park in New York City. According to police and a witness account, Neely died after being placed in a chokehold by a 24-year-old man on a subway train in New York City on Monday. Increasingly, activists call for the man who used the chokehold on Neely to be apprehended. (Photo by Ron Adar / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
Attorneys for the white 24-year-old college student and Marine veteran accused of putting a Black homeless man into a chokehold and killing him on a New York City subway said Saturday their client was protecting himself and other subway riders after the man began aggressively threatening them.
In a statement, the law firm of Raiser and Kenniff, P.C., which represents Daniel Penny, attorneys said Daniel Penny was involved in the incident caught on video on Monday that ended in the death of Jordan Neely, 30.
The attorneys said Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior from “ongoing and untreated mental illness.”
“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 statement said. “Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.
The New York law firm Mills & Edwards LLP, representing Neely’s family, said in a statement emailed to Law&Crime said Neely was choked to death for 15 minutes by a vigilante.
“I took this case because 15 minutes is too long to go without help, intervention and without air,” founding partner Lennon Edwards said. “Passengers are not supposed to die on the floor of our subways.”
He said current times have created a heightened sense of fear, sometimes reasonable, sometimes not.
“However, there has to be a clear line of when lethal force can be used by anyone, including civilians,” he said.
The law firm said Neely suffered from mental illness, which began when his mother was brutally murdered when he was 14.
“It is a tragedy for all of us to know that Jordan Neely’s life was also cut short,” the lawyers’ statement said. “Mills & Edwards is committed to holding accountable the MTA and Neely’s killer.”
Neely was reportedly shouting and pacing when he was taken to the floor.
Juan Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist riding on the train who shot video capturing the incident, said the victim was yelling about being hungry and thirsty, the New York Times reported.
“‘I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison,”” Vazquez recalled him saying, according to the paper. “‘I’m ready to die.’”
Penny was questioned and released after reportedly telling authorities that passengers felt threatened. He has not been charged with a crime.
The medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide. A Manhattan DA spokesperson said in a statement that prosecutors were conducting a rigorous investigation.
Neely’s death prompted criticism and demonstrations calling for Penny’s arrest.
Neely’s aunt Carolyn Neely wrote on the family’s GoFundMe page that he was a “very talented black man who loves to dance” and had many fans. He was known as a Michael Jackson impersonator.
“Performance was his thing,” she wrote. “He has so many fans, he will always be loved and remembered. We love you Jordan.”
In an interview on CNN, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said judgments about the incident were irresponsible and asked for calm as the investigation unfolds.
“Let’s let the DA conduct his investigation with the law enforcement officials,” he said. “To really interfere with that is not the right thing to do, and I’m going to be responsible and allow them to do their job and allow them to determine exactly what happened here.”
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