Daniel Penny Speaks Out On Jordan Neely’s Death: ‘I Couldn’t Just Sit Still’

Daniel Penny, the ex-Marine facing charges for the death of Jordan Neely, said he was protecting passengers from harm and denied trying to kill Neely, according to a series of videos released by Penny’s lawyers on Sunday.

Penny is facing manslaughter charges after restraining Neely via a chokehold on a New York subway last month, where Neely was reported to be acting erratically and making threats toward other passengers on the train. Neely later died after passengers were unable to revive him following the chokehold.

Penny defended himself, arguing Neely was threatening to “kill” passengers and that he needed to act.

“A man stumbled on, he appeared to be on drugs, the doors closed, and he ripped his jacket off and threw it down at the people sitting next to me at my left,” Penny said. “He was yelling, so I took my headphones out to hear what he was yelling, and the three main threats that he repeated over and over again were ‘I’m going to kill you, I’m prepared to go to jail for life and I’m willing to die.’”