Man Indicted for Manslaughter in New York City Subway Chokehold Case

NEW YORK (AP) — A man charged with manslaughter for applying a chokehold to death on a New York City subway passenger has been indicted by a grand jury, a procedural step that will allow the criminal case to continue.

Manhattan prosecutors indicted Daniel Penny last month in the May 1 incident that killed Jordan Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who in recent years experienced mental illness and homelessness.

Grand jury proceedings are private, and a spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment Wednesday. However, New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the indictment.

“I thank District Attorney Bragg for conducting a thorough investigation into the death of Jordan Neely. As I said when the district attorney filed the charges, I have complete confidence in the judicial process, and now that the grand jury has indicted Daniel Penny, a trial and justice can move forward,” Adams said in a statement.

Neely was yelling at the passengers and asking for money when Penny pinned him to the floor of the moving carriage, with the help of two other riders. Later, Penny, a former member of the United States Marine Corps, applied a choking hold to Neely for more than three minutes.

Penny has said that he was protecting himself and other passengers, claiming that Neely yelled, “I’m going to kill them” and that he was “willing to die” or go to prison for the rest of his life.

A freelance journalist who recorded Neely trying to free himself, and later when he fell unconscious, said he was being aggressive and was scaring people, but had not assaulted anyone. Neely was black. Penny is Caucasian.

Penny’s attorneys, Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff, said in a statement that their client did not intend to kill Neely, and just wanted to keep him under control until police arrived.

“While we respect the grand jury’s decision to take this case to trial, it should be noted that the standard of proof in a grand jury is very low and no violations have been found. We are confident that by the time the grand jury is charged court jury will analyze the evidence, they will find that Daniel Penny’s actions aboard that train were fully justified,” Raiser stated.

Neely’s death sparked protests from many who viewed the incident as an example of racial injustice, but some people have supported Penny, including several of the United States’ Republican presidential hopefuls. A fund set up to cover Penny’s legal expenses has raised more than $2.8 million, according to her lawyers.

Penny, 24, was released on $100,000 bail following his May 12 arraignment. He will have to go back to court to be prosecuted for the new accusation.

Under New York law, prosecutors needed an indictment from a grand jury in order to move forward with the case.

If convicted, Penny could spend several years in prison.