On May 1, 2023, Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old black man who was homeless, was killed by Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old white former Marine. Penny placed Neely in an extended chokehold while riding the subway in Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Neely boarded the train at Second Avenue station just before it departed and reportedly began screaming that he was hungry, needed a job, was not afraid of going to prison, and was ready to die. Freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vázquez, who witnessed the incident, said that Neely removed his jacket and threw it violently to the floor, resulting in other passengers moving away from him. Penny then approached Neely from behind and put him in a chokehold.
Penny maintained the hold after the train had reached its next stop, Broadway-Lafayette street station, while other passengers held the doors open to prevent it from moving. During the chokehold, some bystanders gave warnings on Neely's health, with one telling Penny, "You're gonna kill him" to which Penny did not respond. Vázquez captured the final three minutes of the hold on video, which shows Penny applying it for nearly a minute after Neely had stopped struggling and gone limp. Vázquez was widely quoted as saying the chokehold lasted a total of fifteen minutes; however, he later told CNN it was around seven minutes. Prosecutors alleged that the chokehold lasted for six minutes, while Penny said it lasted less than five minutes.
An unknown amount of time after Penny released Neely, New York City Police (NYPD) officers arrived and administered CPR. Shortly thereafter, the New York City Fire Department transported Neely to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Penny was taken for questioning by the NYPD and released without charge several hours later. Although his identity was known to the press the day after the incident, his name was not published for several more days; only his age, race, and mention of his marine service were initially given. Protests ensued in the coming days, with participants demanding that Penny be arrested and charged with homicide. The incident sparked public debate nationwide, as politicians and veterans issued differing reactions to Penny's actions, including support and criticism.
Neely's death was ruled a homicide by compression of the neck on May 4. On May 11, Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter. When he turned himself into the police the next day, he was arraigned and released on a $100,000 bond. On June 14, he was formally indicted by a grand jury.
At a June 28 hearing, the indictment was unsealed, revealing an additional charge of criminally negligent homicide. Penny pleaded not guilty to both charges. If convicted, Penny would face between five and fifteen years in prison for manslaughter, and up to four for negligent homicide. Two men shown in Vázquez's video helping Penny restrain Neely were not charged.
Incident
The incident took place on the New York City Subway in Manhattan.[2] Neely boarded a northbound F train at the Second Avenue station just before it departed for Broadway–Lafayette Street station.[3][4] Penny was in the same train car, planning to go to a gym.[5] Vásquez told The New York Times that Neely began screaming, "I don't have food, I don't have a drink, I'm fed up. I don't mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I'm ready to die."[3] Another witness heard Neely say "someone is going to die today."[6] Vasquez said that Neely was frightening but "had not assaulted anyone".[3] Other witnesses said that Neely made "half-lunge movements" at other passengers and was within "half a foot of people", and recalled fearing for their lives.[6][7]
In an interview with New York magazine's Curbed, Vázquez repeated much of his account as reported by the New York Times:
[Neely] stopped the door from closing and he got on the train. And he stood in the middle of the train car, and then he started yelling that he didn't have food, that he didn't have water. From what I understood, he was yelling that he was tired, that he didn't care about going to jail.
I tried to start filming from that moment, but I didn't because I couldn't see anything – it was too crowded. And then I heard him take off his jacket. He bundled it up and just threw it on the floor, very violently. You could hear the sound of the zipper hitting the floor. At that moment, when he threw the jacket, the people who were sitting around him stood up and moved away. He kept standing there and he kept yelling.
It's at that moment that this man came up behind him and grabbed him by the neck, and I think – I didn't see, but I think – that move of grabbing him by the neck also led him to grab Neely by the legs with his own. They both fell. And then in like 30 seconds, I don't know, we got to Broadway–Lafayette, and they were just there on the floor.[8]
Vázquez said that Neely did not interact with Daniel Penny prior to the chokehold.[9] Police later stated that Neely had been acting in a "hostile and erratic manner",[10] and had reportedly been throwing garbage at other passengers.[11]
When the train reached Broadway–Lafayette Street station, riders prevented the train from moving onward by holding open the train doors, waiting for police to come.[12][8] It is estimated that the time from when Jordan Neely boarded the train at the Second Avenue station to the time it reached the Broadway–Lafayette Street station was one minute.[4] Prosecutors said that the chokehold began less than 30 seconds before the train arrived at the Broadway-Lafayette Street station.[13] Most passengers exited the car where the physical fight was underway.[8]
Penny maintained the chokehold on Neely for several minutes in total, at least three of which were seen in Vázquez's video.[14][15] Vázquez told NBC New York the chokehold lasted for 15 minutes, but later told CNN that "the two men were on the floor for about seven minutes" and that he "started recording about three or four minutes after the chokehold began".[16][17] In a widely cited Facebook post containing his video of the incident, Vázquez also wrote that the chokehold lasted for 15 minutes.[18] Penny disputed the claim of a 15-minute chokehold, and said it lasted for less than five minutes.[19] Prosecutors later alleged that the chokehold lasted for six minutes.[13]
Neely struggled against the chokehold by kicking and trying to free his arms, which were being pinned by two other men.[20] A witness said that it did not look like Penny had control of the situation due to the struggle.[6]
Vásquez said that Penny asked other riders to call the police while he had the chokehold.[8] Penny had learned the technique for restraint in basic training.[21][22] Another witness said that at some point during the chokehold, Penny relaxed his grip on Neely, and Neely coughed up a wad of blood and mucus.[23] The same witness noted that nobody on the train car was telling Penny to stop his chokehold, and that some passengers expressed hostile statements toward Neely and support for Penny's actions.[23]
At 2:29 p.m., a passenger on the train warned that Neely had defecated on himself, a sign that he may be dying, saying, "You don't want to catch a murder charge. You got a hell of a chokehold, man."[12][24] One of the other men restraining Neely responded, claiming that what appeared to be new excrement was just old excrement.[25] One of the men also responded to the warning by saying that Penny had stopped "squeezing" Neely's neck.[24]
About 50 seconds after Neely became motionless, Penny and one man who was still restraining Neely's arms released their hold on him.[20][26] Shortly thereafter, a man named Johnny Grima can be seen in the video saying, "Don't put him on his back though, man. He might choke on his own spit."[27] Neely was placed on his side, into a recovery position.[24] Grima said that he put water on Neely's forehead, but was told to stop by Penny.[28] Other passengers also checked on him, including an onlooker who warned Penny about killing Neely, who said, "He's all right. He ain't gonna die."[29][12]
The New York Police Department reportedly received a call at 2:27 p.m. about a fight on the train, and arrived before 2:30 p.m., administering first aid to an unconscious Neely.[12][17][16] Another source says the first call was around 2:25 p.m. according to police.[30] The NYPD issued a press release on May 4 which said they had responded at 2:27 p.m. to calls made before that time.[31] The New York City Fire Department received a call for help at 2:39 p.m., arriving at 2:46 p.m. At least five 9-1-1 calls were made, with some initial reports describing a homeless man that some found to be threatening in his mannerisms and volume.[32]
In 2007, when Neely was 14 years old, his mother was murdered by a man with whom she had been in an abusive relationship. Her body was found in a suitcase on the side of the Henry Hudson Parkway. Neely was called to testify at the trial.[43][44] According to his aunt, Neely developed depression, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder after the murder of his mother.[41] He was placed in foster care as a youth.[37]
Neely had an extensive criminal record, including 42 arrests on charges including petty larceny, jumping subway turnstiles, theft, and three unprovoked assaults on women in the subway between 2019 and 2021.[45] He was frequently homeless and had been involuntarily hospitalized for mental issues in the past. According to The Guardian, once Neely became homeless he slipped "into a cycle of mental health crises, arrests and hospitalization that would continue until his death".[46] He had been a client of the Bowery Residents' Committee, which attempted to find him permanent shelter.[39][37] From 2019 until the time of his death, he was listed on a city-maintained roster of homeless people considered to be most in need of assistance and treatment, and often resistant to accepting help.[39]
Neely's funeral was held on May 19 at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem. At least 200 people were present, while a small group of peaceful protesters gathered outside. In addition to Neely's family and friends, several Democratic politicians, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams, and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, also attended.
Civil rights activist and Baptist minister Al Sharpton delivered Neely's eulogy, in which he criticized the systematic abuse and criminalization of people with mental illness, and the double standards of the police and criminal justice system on the basis of race. He objected to the characterization by some of Penny as a "good Samaritan", saying, "A good Samaritan helps those in trouble, they don't choke him out."[47][48]
Daniel Penny is a white former marine sergeant from West Islip, New York. At the time of the killing, he was 24 years old. He was indicted for the death of Jordan Neely. He hired Thomas Kenniff, a former Republican candidate for district attorney, to represent him.[12]
On May 5, 2023, Penny's attorney released a statement offering his condolences to Neely's family, stating that he "never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death" and that "[w]hen Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived."[49][50]
Three weeks after the incident, Penny denied any racial motive, saying, "I'm not a white supremacist" in an interview.[51][52] In video-recorded statements released by his lawyers on June 11, Penny said, "Some people say this was about race, which is absolutely ridiculous. I didn't see a Black man threatening passengers. I saw a man threatening passengers. A lot of whom were people of color. A person who helped restrain Neely was a person of color."[53][54][55]
In the same video, Penny said about Neely, "The three main threats that he repeated over and over was, 'I'm going to kill you,' 'I'm prepared to go to jail for life,' and 'I'm willing to die.'" Penny disputed characterizations of his own intent, or assertions that he had restrained Neely for 15 minutes. He said, "Between stops, it was only a couple of minutes, so the whole interaction, less than five minutes. Some people say I was trying to choke him to death – which is also not true. I was trying to restrain him. You can see in the video there's a clear rise and fall of his chest, indicating that he's breathing."[19][56][57]
Legal proceedings
Police questioned Penny after the incident but released him without charges a few hours later.[40] On May 3, Manhattan District AttorneyAlvin Bragg confirmed that his office had begun an investigation into Neely's death.[58] Also on May 3, the medical examiner's office determined the manner of death to be homicide,[59] stating that Neely died from "compression of neck (chokehold)".[1] On May 11, Bragg's office announced that Penny would be charged with second degree manslaughter, which carries a penalty of between five and 15 years in prison.
On May 12, Penny turned himself in to police for arrest and was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court. Since he had not been indicted by a grand jury, he chose not to enter a plea, and was released from custody on $100,000 cash bail. He was required to surrender his passport and instructed to not leave New York without approval.[60][61][62][63]
A grand jury was impaneled on May 31 to hear Bragg's case against Penny.[64] On June 14, 2023, he was officially indicted by the grand jury.[65] At a second arraignment on June 28, 2023, the grand jury's indictment was unsealed, revealing a charge of criminally negligent homicide in addition to second-degree manslaughter, potentially giving a trial jury the option to convict on a lesser charge. The penalty for the second-degree manslaughter charge is between five and 15 years in prison, and the penalty for the criminally negligent homicide charge is up to four years in prison. A second-degree manslaughter conviction would require the prosecution to prove the defendant knew the potential to cause death, and acted recklessly. A criminally negligent homicide conviction would require proof that the defendant's actions unjustifiably risked Neely's death, but without awareness of the danger.[66][67][68] After the arraignment, the district attorney's office released a list of evidence to be given to the defendant's attorneys. Items included witness statements, cellphone videos from at least two witnesses, and surveillance video.[69][70]
On January 17, 2024, the presiding judge denied a request by Penny's legal team for a dismissal of his charges, and a trial date was estimated for no sooner than fall 2024.[71] On March 20, the trial was scheduled for October 8.[72]
The two other men who helped to restrain Neely have not been charged.[68]
Reactions and protests
Neely's family and friends
Neely's father, Andre Zachery, spoke with the New York Daily News on May 5, 2023, stating, "Obviously he was calling for help... He wasn't out to hurt nobody. He was a good kid and a good man too. Something has to be done. That man, he's still walking around right now. My son didn't deserve to die because he needed help."[73] On May 8, 2023, attorneys representing Neely's family released a statement about Penny's press release, saying it, "...is not an apology nor an expression of regret. It is a character assassination and a clear example of why he believed he was entitled to take Jordan's life... 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."[74] The family asked Al Sharpton to deliver the eulogy at Neely's funeral.[29]
Moses Harper, a dance instructor and performer and a friend and mentor of Neely from age 16 until his death said, "when I think of Jordan Neely, I think of a gifted, kind, young soul who was trying to find some joy and peace in this world. He was looking for a reason to celebrate and engage in something positive. And it is painful to think that somebody treated him like he wasn't worth anything. He was priceless." Based on her years of outreach work at Rikers Island, Harper said that younger homeless men like Neely were frequently counseled by their elders to intentionally commit minor offenses for the purpose of getting a warm meal and bed in jail, or claim suicidal ideation to gain hospital admission, when no other options were available. The last time Harper saw Neely alive, she encouraged him to "get clean and clean up." Neely said, "Don't worry, I am going to do it." "But the system failed Jordan," said Harper.[75]
Public officials and community
New York City mayor Eric Adams called Neely's death "tragic" and said "there's a lot we don't know about what happened here", and that Neely's mental health issues played a role in the killing.[14][76] Later, without mentioning the circumstances of Neely's death, Adams said that death could have been prevented if Neely had received more mental health assistance.[77] When asked about the issue of vigilantism in a May 4 interview with Abby Phillip, Adams replied that "we cannot blanketly tell passengers what they should or should not do".[1] Adams later held a press conference calling for passage of the proposed Supportive Interventions Act, a bill that would lower the legal threshold at which a person can be involuntarily committed in New York.[78]
New York state governor Kathy Hochul called Neely's death "deeply disturbing"[14] and called for "consequences". She described Penny's actions as a "very extreme response" to a person who did not appear to be a threat to others.[76]Metropolitan Transportation Authority chair Janno Lieber called the death "really troubling and upsetting" and urged riders to "find a way to deescalate" if challenges emerge on the subways.[79]
New York state Senator Julia Salazar called Neely's killing a lynching,[80][81] arguing that Neely would not have been perceived as threatening if he were not black, referencing news and social media coverage demonizing the homeless and mentally ill.[80] She tweeted, "The constant demonization of poor people and people in mental health crisis in our city allows for this barbarism. It is making our city sick."[82][83] Executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, Dave Giffen, said that political rhetoric has led to hatred and violence against homeless people.[33] City Council member Tiffany Cabán said the killing was "the inevitable outcome of the dangerous rhetoric of stigmatizing mental health issues, stigmatizing poverty and the continued bloated investment in the carceral system at the expense of funding access to housing, food and health".[84]
Many left-leaning activists, including Democratic Party representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said Neely was murdered,[77] pointing to what they say are deficiencies in the city's response to homelessness and mental illness.[39] Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: "Jordan was houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarize itself."[85][86] She accused the Adams administration of "trying to cut the very services that could have helped" Neely.[85] New York City comptroller Brad Lander said, "We must not become a city where a mentally ill human being can be choked to death by a vigilante without consequence."[33][85]
Mayor Adams rebuffed statements from Lander and Ocasio-Cortez as "[not] very responsible at the time where we're still investigating the situation" and called for officials to wait on investigations from Bragg and law enforcement officials.[14][87]
Other officials expressed frustration that DA Bragg's office had not already criminally charged Penny, claiming that if he had been black, the situation would have unfolded differently. City Council speaker Adrienne Adams stated, "The initial response by our legal system to this killing is disturbing and puts on display for the world the double standards that black people and other people of color continue to face."[76][84]
New York City media reported that residents were divided, with some supporting and others opposing Penny actions.[12][88] More than 59,000 online donations have been made to Penny's legal defense fund, totaling around $2.9 million,[89][90] including $10,000 from Vivek Ramaswamy, with some conservatives – including Republican politicians Ron DeSantis and Matt Gaetz – labeling him a hero and celebrating his actions.[91][92][93] Republican politician Nikki Haley was very critical of the DA charging Penny, and said "the governor needs to pardon Daniel Penny ... no question about it [...] right away".[94][95] Republican Nassau County, New York executive Bruce Blakeman held a rally in support of Penny in Manhattan.[96]
On May 25, Republican politician Andy Ogles proposed House Resolution 448 in the United States House of Representatives to "recognize and honor Daniel Penny...for his heroism and courage in apprehending a threat to public safety". The resolution was supported by Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Republican representatives. The text of the resolution made reference to Neely's arrest record. On the same day, Ogles wrote on Twitter, "In Democrat-run cities across the nation, crime is rampant, and the desperate cry for order is loud. Rather than take action to protect everyday citizens, Leftist government leaders prioritize political agendas over justice." Tennessee State Rep. Gloria Johnson responded to the resolution on Twitter, saying, "Maga republicans sure love criminals."[97][98][99]
Shortly after Neely's death, Gabriel Murphy, a former marine with a service record similar to Penny's, started a petition at MoveOn saying, "the individual who choked Mr. Neely to death should be prosecuted for murder." As of May 9, 2023, nearly 6,000 people had signed it. He told Military.com that throughout training, all recruits are taught and practice chokeholds and other martial arts combat techniques, and that passing the first of a five level proficiency system is a graduation requirement. The training is "not something you touch once in boot camp and then go forget about," he said, and that applying a chokehold is "basically starting to kill" the person to whom it is applied. According to the official training manual, "when executed properly, a blood choke takes between 8 to 13 seconds for the aggressor to lose consciousness."[22] In an interview with the New York Times, Murphy said that marines are instructed to release a chokehold once the subject loses consciousness. He said the video evidence showed Penny continuing to apply the hold for 50 seconds after Neely had gone limp. Murphy said that Penny had misused the technique and that, "I don't think what he did was OK, and I don't think it's in line with anything the Marine Corps teaches."[100]
Former marine blackbelt Alex Hollings said in a June 28 interview with Insider that Penny was "sloppy and excessive" in his application of the chokehold, and that, "His hand placement is incorrect, and it's that improper positioning that appears to have turned what should have been a 'blood choke' into an 'air choke' for the first few minutes of this video." Hollings said the video shows Penny wrapping around Neely's legs to gain more leverage, and that 30 seconds afterward Neely's legs stop moving—yet Penny continued applying the hold for another minute, which Hollings said is probably what killed Neely. Hollings said Penny should have known when Neely became unconscious and released the choke. He should have found a different way to restrain Neely with the help of the two men already assisting him.
In contrast to his criticism, Hollings also said that Penny would not have practiced applying the chokehold while grappling on the ground, and that while in training it is clear when to release the hold; however, he said "we don't place a heavy emphasis on knowing when to let up to ensure your opponent survives." The article also said that "the sloppy air choke" may not have entirely closed Neely's airway, explaining why his chest was observed to be rising and falling in that part of the video; however, the article did not explicitly attribute those statements to Hollings. Three other marine veterans were interviewed for the article, including two retired senior officers. There was disagreement among them as to whether Penny's actions were reckless or negligent; one of the former officers called him a hero. Consistent with Penny's own public statements about his intentions, former marine sergeant Dave Bruce and one of the unnamed retired officers said that the purpose of a chokehold is to temporarily restrain an aggressor until help arrives.[101]
Former NYC prosecutor Michael Bachner told NBC New York that Penny's status as a former marine could undermine an argument he acted in self-defense, saying, "If he knew and was trained to use a chokehold, he would be no different than the training a police officer would get. The argument is going to be that he acted in a way that he should have known could result in death."[30]
Journalists
About a month after Neely's death, reporter Andy Newman, who had covered the Neely story for The New York Times, gave an interview to the Columbia Journalism Review. He said that he found the issues of homelessness and mental illness "vexing to write about" because they lack easy solutions, and that he thought many readers feel or assume that the answer is to "just get these people to take their meds, and or just lock them away in a long-term psychiatric institution."[102] Reflecting on his 25 years at the metro desk, he said:
The depressing thing about covering this stuff is that if you just look back at stories through the years, every single mayor has tried ways to fix this problem and to somehow prevent people who are severely mentally ill and maybe prone to violence from doing something terrible to other people or to themselves. And every mayor and every governor comes in with a bunch of plans and programs. And we write these stories about these plans and programs. And for one reason or another, it just always happens again.[102]
Protests
Protestors chant "Say his name: Jordan Neely!" as they walk down Madison Avenue on May 6.
On May 3, two days after Neely's killing, a vigil-turned-protest was held inside the Broadway–Lafayette Street station, during which the arrest and charging of the then-unnamed man who choked Neely were demanded.[103] A protest in front of the Manhattan district attorney's office was set for May 4,[104] and another May 4 protest was held in Brooklyn;[105] after dark on May 4, a group of demonstrators marched from Brooklyn to Manhattan across the Manhattan Bridge, onto which they spray-painted slogans related to Neely's death.[106] Several organizations, including Black Lives Matter, NAACP and Amnesty International USA, have called for accountability in Neely's killing.[107][108] On May 5, 2023, protests took place across the city, including locations such as the Broadway–Lafayette Street station, Washington Square Park, and outside the Manhattan district attorney's office, calling for criminal charges to be brought.[50] Protests were again held on May 6, 2023, at various locations in Manhattan, including the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station, where several protesters were arrested.[109][110] On May 8, 2023, 11 protesters were arrested.[111]
On June 23, the Manhattan district attorney's office dropped all misdemeanor charges related to the protests, which included resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.[112] The office said that it was still seeking to prosecute three people who were arrested on felony charges, one for blocking subway tracks, one for pinning an NYPD inspector's arm in a door, causing "bruising and substantial pain", and one for striking the back of an officer's head multiple times.[113]
^A spokesperson for the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner explained that "manner of death was ruled a homicide, but that determination is not a ruling on intent or culpability, which is for the criminal justice system to consider".[1]
