Subway chokehold witness calls Daniel Penny a ‘hero’ – ‘we feared for their lives’
‘Daniel Penny is a hero – we feared for our lives’: Woman who was on train when Marine veteran Jordan put Neely in stranglehold says he was ‘distraught’ after accidentally killing him – as she calls for retraction of the indictment
- Penny faces up to 15 years in prison for strangling Neely
- A female witness says he did the right thing by protecting the fellow passengers
A woman witnessed Marine veteran Daniel Penny put Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold. 1.
Penny, 24, faces 15 years in prison for second-degree manslaughter for putting Neely in the stranglehold.
Despite a flurry of public support and testimony from others on the train who say he acted out of courage, DA Alvin Bragg’s Manhattan office is pressing ahead with the prosecution.
One of the women on the train was an unknown 66-year-old who previously spoke out in defense of Penny.
Now another tells her story of how Penny protected them.
Daniel Penny, 24, faces 15 years in prison for putting Jordan Neely, 30, in a deadly stranglehold
On May 1, Penny put Neely in a fatal chokehold on a New York subway. Neely had threatened passengers
“It was self-defense and I believe in my heart that he saved a lot of people that day that could have been hurt,” she said. Fox news.
The woman, also in her 60s, said she was quietly reading her book on the train when she heard Neely scream.
He said, “I don’t care if I have to kill an f, I will. I’m going to jail, I’ll take a bullet.” I look at where we are on the subway, in the sardine can, and I’m like, “Okay, we’re in between stations. We have nowhere to go.”
Penny’s attorney Steve Raiser says he acted in self-defense
“The people on that train, we were scared. We were afraid for our lives.’
Penny, she says, waited until the last minute to take Neely down.
By the time the train arrived at Broadway-Lafayette station, Neely was being held down by Penny and two others.
Penny continued to hold on to him, even as bystanders warned he was at risk of killing him.
A video of the moment has been widely viewed and sparked protests, claims of racism and uproar in New York City.
But the witness says Penny was “distraught” when she realized Neely had died.
“You should have seen what Mr. Penny looked like. He was upset. He was very, very, very visibly upset. And he didn’t go. He didn’t run. He stayed.
Neely’s aunt and father say he was hard to pin down because he was homeless. Neely’s criminal record included 42 arrests, including assaulting people on the subway
“No one wants to kill anyone. Mr. Penny didn’t want to kill that man. It took three men to stop Mr. Neely. He was having a hard time,” she said.
The woman, who described herself as a “woman of color,” said race has nothing to do with what happened on the train.
“This is not about race. This is about people of all colors who were very, very scared and a man stepped in to help them.
“Race is used to divide us.”
She said that New York – a city she has lived in for 50 years – was beginning to resemble a “Third World country.”
“I miss the city under Giuliani’s law and order. When it comes to exposing or subduing violent behavior, the people in power who should be protecting us are not.”
Penny’s attorneys raised $2.6 million through a GiveSendGo page.
They say he was just trying to protect others on the train. Thousands of others agree.