(NewsNation) — The lawyer for a man who fatally choked another person on a New York City subway rejected the idea his client was acting dangerously or recklessly, but instead was reasonable in trying to protect other riders from a perceived threat.
Daniel Penny, 24, is facing a second-degree manslaughter charge in the May 1 death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely, a Black man who died after he was held in a chokehold by Penny on the subway. Penny claims he was acting in self-defense because Neely was being aggressive toward and threatening riders.
Penny’s defense attorney, Thomas Kenniff, rejected claims that Penny, as a Marine veteran, knew the dangers of holding someone in chokehold for an extended length of time. Some witnesses suggest Neely was held for up to 15 minutes.
“(Penny) wasn’t choking anyone. What he was doing is he was restraining someone,” Kenniff said Wednesday on “CUOMO.” “Restraining someone who was menacing other individuals on the train, and threatening other individuals with threats that could be interpreted as not just threats to do violence, but threats to take life.”
Penny turned himself in at a Manhattan police station Friday morning, a day after prosecutors said they would bring the manslaughter charge against him. At a brief arraignment, he gave no plea, surrendered his passport and waived extradition.
A judge authorized Penny’s release on bond, the Associated Press reported.
Penny, who is white, was questioned by police in the immediate aftermath of the chokehold, but was initially released without charges.
Donte Mills, an attorney for Neely’s family, previously told NewsNation that Penny had “no authority” to place someone in a chokehold.
“Legally, what we want to see is: Are you responding to force of any kind? That’s what police have to do and they have the authority to act. As a civilian, he has no authority,” Mills said.
Kenniff said it’s “preposterous” to suggest Penny held Neely in the chokehold for 15 minutes. One video captured by a bystander on the subway shows it lasted at least three minutes.
“This is a situation that unfolded between two subway stops. If you live in New York City, if you ride the subway, you know how long a trip between two subway stops is — roughly two minutes,” Kenniff said.
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, invoking comparisons to the infamous subway shooting carried out by Bernhard Goetz against four teenagers in 1984.
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.
Neely was homeless and showing signs of mental distress on the train, according to bystanders.
“I don’t have food, I don’t have to drink, I’m fed up … I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison … I’m ready to die,” Neely allegedly said, according to journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez, who recorded video of the incident that was shared on Facebook.
Kennff said that while Penny sympathizes with Neely and his family, he doesn’t regret having acted the way he did.
“He was convicted then, and he’s no less convinced now, that his actions were reasonable and that they were intended to protect himself and others,” Kenniff said.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate WPIX-TV contributed to this report.
