Former US Marine Daniel Penny whose chokehold killed Jordan Neely surrenders, to face manslaughter charges

A former US Marine who allegedly killed an unruly passenger by putting him in a chokehold on the New York City subway has been taken into police custody on Friday. Heis expected to be arraigned over manslaughter charges said the Manhattan district attorney on Thursday (May 11).

Reuters reports thatDaniel Penny, a 24-year-old US Marine Corps veteran, surrendered to thepolice at the 5th Precinct in southeastern Manhattan on Friday. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday said that Penny willbe arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on a count of second-degree manslaughter.

This comes after Manhattan prosecutors said that they will bring criminal charges against the accused who faces a charge of second-degree manslaughter, which could lead to a jail term of up to 15 years.

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“We can confirm that Daniel Penny will be arrested on a charge of manslaughter in the second degree. We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow (May 12),” a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, said in a statement.

Jordan Neely’s death

A now-viral video shows Penny putting 30-year-old Jordan Neely in a chokehold and pinning him to the floor of an F train in Manhattan, nearly two weeks earlier. The death of Jordan Neely, also known as a Michael Jackson impersonator who often performed on the train, has sparked outrage and protests calling for the arrest of the alleged perpetrator.

According to witnesses, the serviceman, who is White, allegedly restrained Neely after the latter was complaining loudly about being hungry and saying he was ready to die. Subsequently, Penny came up behind him and gripped him around the neck until he appeared to stop moving. Neely was later declared dead.

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According to the medical examiner, Neely died from compression of the neck. Furthermore, a freelance journalist who witnessed the incident said Neely, who is Black, had been screaming and begging for money but had not physically attacked anyone.

Meanwhile, some people have said that the incident amounted to a “lynching” and an example of “white vigilantism” against people of colour. Penny’s lawyers said he did not mean to kill Neely and that their client, along with two other riders who helped restrain the 30-year-old, had acted in self-defence.

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“Daniel never intended to harm Mr Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” said Penny’s lawyers, Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff, in a statement. It also alleged that Neely had aggressively threatened passengers riding in the subway car.

Meanwhile, an attorney for Neely’s family in a statement said that Penny's actions on the train and his words show that “he needs to be in prison,” reported Reuters.

(With inputs from agencies)

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