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Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old U.S. Marine veteran who was filmed placing Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a New York City subway this month, is expected to be arrested Friday on a second-degree manslaughter charge, according to a statement from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
"We can confirm that Daniel Penny will be arrested on a charge of Manslaughter in the Second Degree," read the statement shared with Newsweek. "We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow."
A spokesperson for the district attorney's office also confirmed that Penny's arrest was part of the investigation involving Neely's death.
Neely, a 30-year-old Black homeless man who was a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator, encountered Penny on the F train May 1. Witnesses and police said that Neely was yelling and pacing back and forth on the train before being restrained by at least three passengers, including Penny.
Video of the incident was captured by freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez, and shows Penny holding Neely in a headlock position for several minutes while Neely tries to break free. The two other passengers are shown pinning down Neely's arms and shoulders.
Neely lost consciousness during the struggle and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Manhattan's medical examiner said that he died from compression to the neck and classified the killing as a homicide. Witnesses said that there were no signs Neely had physically attacked someone before the incident.
Penny was initially detained and interviewed by police but was released without charges. However, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office later announced that it was investigating the incident.
Public Debate Over Neely's Death
Neely's death and the absence of immediate legal action sparked outrage and protests across Manhattan, with many people calling for Penny's immediate arrest. Some public leaders, such as New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, suggested that racism could have played a factor in the killing, while others argued that the incident highlighted the city's failure to take care of vulnerable populations.
"[Neely's] killing at the hands of a fellow passenger and the responses to this violence that took his life have been not only tragic but difficult to absorb," Adams said in a statement released shortly after Neely's death. "Racism that continues to permeate throughout our society allows for a level of dehumanization that denies Black people from being recognized as victims when subjected to acts of violence."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, however, has encouraged the public to wait until an official investigation was conducted before casting blame in Neely's death. During a speech before City Hall just over a week after the deadly encounter, Adams said that Neely "did not deserve to die," and directed the conversation to renewed calls for heightened mental health services in the city.
"And all of us must work together to do more for our brothers and sisters struggling with serious mental illness," Adams continued.
After Neely's death, police said that he had a documented mental health history as well as a criminal history that included over 40 arrests.
What Penny Says
The attorneys representing Penny released a statement a few days after the killing, saying that their client "never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death."
"Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness," the lawyers wrote. "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."
Under New York law, Penny could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
About the writer
Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more