The family of a homeless schizophrenic man who died Monday after being stabbed in a chokehold on the New York subway has called for the arrest of the Navy veteran who restrained him.
Jordan Neely, 30, died after Daniel Penny restrained him amid a nervous breakdown. Neely reportedly threw garbage at other passengers and went on a rampage.
On Wednesday, Neely’s death was ruled a homicide by New York City coroners, and the Manhattan district attorney is considering filing charges.
Neely’s family called for Penny’s arrest on Friday, saying they “want to see him behind bars.”
“The family is outraged by what happened,” said Lennon Edwards, one of their lawyers.
Lennon Edwards, one of the lawyers representing Jordan Neely’s family, said on Friday they want to see Daniel Penny ‘behind bars’
He told TMZ: ‘The family has the feeling that justice is failing at the moment.
“It really took too long for this to be determined to be murder. It was clear from the start. You watch the video, it tells you that.
“The coroner’s office came back and said death by pressure on the neck. That’s obvious – you see that stranglehold.’
Edwards said the video was extremely distressing for the family to watch.
“You watch this video and the family watched this video and they are in tears. Every conversation we have with them – there is not a dry eye.
“And literally, they want justice.”
Edwards added: “They want Jordan’s killer prosecuted. They want to see him in prison, behind bars.’
Penny was questioned by the NYPD on Monday but was released without charge.
The investigation is ongoing and it is likely that a grand jury will be set up to determine whether or not to press charges. Penny’s lawyer tells DailyMail.com that they have reached out to the DA and NYPD to work together.
ABC quotes law enforcement sources as saying the prosecution has spoken to six witnesses but is looking for at least four more.
Neely had been arrested 42 times in the past, including for punching a 67-year-old woman in the face. But New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke for many when she said his criminal past was irrelevant.
“Do leaders want to improve his record as if it justifies a public execution in the subway?” she tweeted. “What did we come up with?”
The former Marine who put homeless Jordan Neely in a deadly stranglehold on the NYC subway has been formally identified as Daniel J. Penny (right)
Neely fell limp in Penny’s arms. When he stopped responding, Penny let go of him and stood up
Edwards agreed that his ancestry shouldn’t matter, and neither should his rants on the subway.
“You don’t kill someone because you’re uncomfortable,” he said.
“You feel uncomfortable talking to your boss: You feel uncomfortable talking to a lot of people in the course of your day.”
“If we stick to what happened here, we have someone who started with — and the order is important here — the first statement we’ve heard from his mouth, from witnesses, is that he said, ‘I’m hungry.’
‘That is the problem.’
Edwards noted that Neely was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt, which made it “clearly visible whether someone is armed or not.”
Neely was not armed.
He was approached from behind and immediately put into a choke hold. This is not a reasonable response to something that has happened before.
“Some have used the word unhinged — well, who is really unhinged when you look at this incident? It’s the man who killed him – everyone should have been afraid of that.’
Edwards said Penny was acting as a vigilante.
“This is clearly the mindset of someone who says I’m taking the law into my own hands. I am taking this situation into my own hands.
“And I think it was less about protecting the people on the train and more about how he felt about the person he had his arms around.”
After being warned that Neely could die, Penny (left) and the other man who helped restrain him (right) continued to restrain him for several more seconds. He jumped up when Neely stopped responding
The men then placed Neely in the lateral position. His limbs were limp at the time
The first footage showed Penny holding Neely in a stranglehold while two other men held his arms, but not the moment when Penny released him.
Witnesses say Neely, who was schizophrenic, was acting erratically, throwing garbage and screaming that he wanted to ‘die’ or ‘go to jail’ because he was tired of not having food.
A longer video released Friday shows the three minutes and 52 seconds after the train pulled into Broadway Lafayette station at 2:30 p.m. Monday.
The footage begins with Penny already holding Neely in a stranglehold. For two minutes and five seconds, Neely struggled to the floor, swinging his feet.
He fell limp after two minutes and six seconds, when a passer-by had boarded the train.
The man – who can be heard but not seen – warned Penny that Neely had defecated, which he believed was a sign he was dying.
“He’s insulted himself … you’re going to kill him now,” he said.
Another man who helped Penny restrain Neely replied that it was an old stain on Neely’s pants and that Penny was no longer ‘pinching’.
‘Isn’t he squeezing? Okay. Because after he relieves himself, that’s it. You must let him go,’ he replied.
He then warned of a ‘murder charge’.
The second man turned to Neely and said, “Hey, can you hear me?”
The man met a hush and told Penny to get up.
Penny says nothing, but lets go of Neely and jumps to her feet.
The unknown bystander is heard to say, “That was one hell of a stranglehold, man.”
In the next few seconds, Penny and the other man who had helped him try to put Neely into the lateral position.
After three minutes and 50 seconds, Neely appears to convulse or take a deep breath.
The video ends after three minutes and 52 seconds. It is unclear whether he has moved again.
Penny was questioned Monday but has not been arrested. His lawyers say they have contacted the NYPD and the district attorney’s office to cooperate with the investigation
Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator whose mental health had deteriorated in recent years, according to his family
The NYC Medical Examiner, which ruled on Wednesday that Neely’s death was homicide, has not confirmed the exact time of death.
The police arrived at the scene, but Neely did not regain consciousness.
He was pronounced dead at Lenox Hill Hospital later that afternoon.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg must now weigh whether or not to press charges.
He and the NYPD are appealing to the public for information about the incident. There were no surveillance cameras on board the train in question.
In a statement on Thursday, a spokesman for the prosecution said: “This is a solemn and serious case that ended in the tragic loss of Jordan Neely’s life.
“As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the medical examiner’s report, review all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records.
“This investigation is being conducted by senior, experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is additional public information to share.
“The Manhattan DA’s Office encourages anyone who witnessed or has information about this incident to call 212-335-9040.”