Daniel Penny court bombshell: Homeless man still had a pulse after chokehold that prosecutors say killed him

Police detected a heartbeat on homeless man Jordan Neely after he was put in a chokehold by Navy veteran Daniel Penny, new bodycam footage shows.

The video became public today as Penny’s manslaughter trial began in Manhattan.

Penny, then 24, is accused of killing Neely by placing him in a fatal chokehold.

The May 2023 incident caused an uproar in America – BLM says it was the racist murder of a mentally ill black man by an overzealous white military believer.

Others say Penny is a hero, a modern-day Batman who intervened when Neely made aggressive threats on the subway, including against a toddler boy whose mother protected him with a stroller.

During today’s opening remarks, bodycam footage was shown of the moment police found Neely.

Two police officers confirmed that Neely still had a pulse when they arrived.

“I have a heartbeat,” someone said. A second police officer confirmed that he also felt a heartbeat.

Neely was unconscious and lying on the floor of the subway.

When asked how Neely got there, Penny replied, “I kicked him out.”

In opening statements on Friday, Manhattan prosecutors said: “Jordan Neely breathed his last on the dirty floor of an uptown F train. He was 30 years old, homelessmentally ill.

“He literally went for the jugular,” said Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran.

The prosecution accepted that Neely had ‘threatening’ passengers on the train.

But she said the entire conversation, from the moment Neely boarded the train to the moment the doors of the next station opened, lasted just 30 seconds.

It was Penny’s choice to restrain Neely for another five minutes and 53 seconds, which formed the basis of the state’s case.

“He literally went for the jugular right away,” she said.

“Every day we encounter people like Jordan Neely. As New Yorkers, we train ourselves to be disengaged, not make eye contact, and pretend that people like Jordan Neely don’t exist.”

Yoran told jurors that another man who helped get Neely to the ground repeatedly told Penny he could let go because he had a firm grip on his arms.

‘The defendant has undergone specialist training in chokeholds. Someone faints and you have to let go immediately… a green belt Marine has been taught and clearly knows it.

“He pushed Mr. Neely to the point of no return, and he would surely die. When he let go, he left Neely on the ground and didn’t look back. He grabbed his hat, dusted himself off and stood over his body.”

Yoran said Penny’s defense that he acted to protect other, vulnerable passengers on the train could not be considered beyond the point where all passengers had fled the train.

‘[The level of force] may have been reasonable at first, [Neely’s behavior] would justify an initial use of force. But at the time Penny killed Mr. Neely, there was no one to protect. At that time, there was no excuse or justification for the deadly use of physical force.”

Although the state plans to argue that Penny never relinquished the initial pressure he placed on Neely’s neck, the defense maintains that he made several attempts to loosen his grip, and that this only had a light hold on Neely by the time he stopped fighting back.

‘This battle lasted five to six minutes. But Danny didn’t squeeze his neck, and couldn’t. We know that because if he did, Neely would have passed out in the first minute,” Kenniff said.

Opening statements began Friday after a grueling two-week process in which the 12-member jury was selected.

An initial search was conducted for Neely’s body and jacket, which were nearby.

No weapons were found and the only possession he had at the time was a muffin stuffed in his jacket pocket.

Police initially felt a weak pulse and an injection of Narcan was administered.

Once the pulse was gone, the officers began CPR and then administered another shot of Narcan.

At no point did Neely regain consciousness.

Kenniff argued that Penny only intended to intervene until police could take over.

“Something that took a lot longer than expected,” he said.

It took seven minutes from the time police received the call for first responders to arrive.

It then took another 10 minutes before emergency services arrived with a defibrillator and more aids.

“Danny waited desperately for the police to show up and help him like he had helped other passengers on this train,” Kenniff said.

The trial is expected to last six weeks and will involve medical experts, first responders and other passengers who were on the train that day.