Global Courant 2023-05-22 19:50:28
The attorney representing Jordan Neely’s family responded to Navy veteran Daniel Penny breaking his silence for the first time since a video of Penny holding Neely in a chokehold went viral.
“This is an ad to soften public opinion about Daniel Penny choking Jordan Neely to death,” Neely family attorney Donte Mills said in a statement obtained by Fox News Monday, in response to the interview. “We never called him a white supremacist, we called him a murderer.”
“We don’t care how many vacations he’s had. We want to know why he didn’t let go of that stranglehold until Jordan was dead,” Mills continued. “Next time ask him why he didn’t let go when the passengers he was supposedly protecting yelled ‘let him go, you’re going to kill him and get a murder charge’. Your planned ride across Africa can’t explain why you thought you had the right to take someone’s life, even if they were homeless and had a mental illness.”
Penny, 24, was charged with second-degree manslaughter released on $100,000 bail. He gave his first interview to the New York Post, which was published Saturday.
DANIEL PENNY BREAKS THE SILENCE ON JORDAN NEELY’S DEATH: ‘HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE’
Daniel Penny leaves the NYPD’s 5th Precinct on Friday, May 12, 2023. Penny faces charges in connection with the death of subway driver Jordan Neely. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
“This had nothing to do with race,” Penny, a decorated veteran sergeant in the Navy who retired from military service two years ago, told the Post.
“I judge a person by their character. I’m not a white supremacist,” he said.
Penny placed Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who prosecutors say “made threats and scared people” aboard the northbound F train, in a chokehold on May 1.
Two other passengers helped hold Neely’s arms while Penny held him in a stranglehold for several minutes. Penny was questioned and released by police the same day, but a bystander viral video recorded by another subway passenger sparked outrage and conversations about mental health, homelessness and race, as Penny is white and Neely is black.
Neely’s death was later ruled a homicide due to neck compression, and Penny was charged with second degree manslaughter – which could earn him up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Marine veteran Daniel Penny, right, is accused of fatally strangling Jordan Neely, left, on a New York subway after the homeless man allegedly threatened passengers. (Mills & Edwards/All Trails)
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“I mean, it’s, it’s kind of comical. Anyone who’s ever met me can tell you, I love all people, I love all cultures. You can see that in my past and all my travels and adventures all over the world. I was actually planning a road trip across Africa before this happened,” Penny told the Post, responding to accusations of racism.
The veteran, who studies architecture and was on his way to the gym at the time of meeting Neely, said he couldn’t say much about what led him to restrain the homeless man because of the ongoing case. Penny’s lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, told the Post that fellow passengers on the F train would support the veteran’s course of action.
Screenshot of a bystander video showing Jordan Neely being held in a stranglehold on the New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez via Storyful)
“The threats, the menace, the terror that Jordan Neely introduced on that train is already well documented,” Kenniff said. “There are numerous witnesses from all walks of life who have absolutely no motive to do anything other than tell what really happened. They are uniform in their recollection of the events.”
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of life,” Penny said of Neely’s death. “It’s tragic what happened to him. Hopefully we can change the system that has failed us so desperately.”
“I always do what I think is right,” he later added.
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Another attorney for Penny, Steven M. Raiser, told the Post that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has six months to secure a grand jury indictment against Penny.
Neely reportedly had more than 40 previous arrests and an active felony warrant, but activists argue that does not justify the murder.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
