By: Mario Mancini

Daniel Penny, a former Marine, who is facing manslaughter charges for the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless psychotic on a subway train, has spoken in detail about the incident, in a set of videos released by his lawyer.

Penny denies attempting to choke Neely to death but acknowledges restraining him in response to Neely’s threats towards passengers.

According to Penny, Neely appeared to be under the influence of drugs and became aggressive towards those around him. Neely repeatedly threatened to kill, go to jail, and die. Feeling intimidated and concerned for the safety of others, Penny decided to take action.

Penny explains that he couldn’t simply sit still while Neely continued to make threats, especially since there were women and children present. As a Marine, Penny states that courage involves handling fear, and he felt compelled to intervene.

Contrary to previous reports, Penny clarifies that the entire interaction lasted less than five minutes, with only a couple of minutes between subway stops. He asserts that he was restraining Neely, not attempting to choke him to death. Penny points out that in the video, Neely’s chest rises and falls, indicating that he was still breathing. Penny used a grip based on the force Neely was exerting to keep him restrained.

Neely never regained consciousness and was later pronounced dead. Penny emphasizes that the incident had nothing to do with race and dismisses claims suggesting otherwise. He saw Neely as a man threatening passengers, regardless of their race or ethnicity. Penny mentions that both he and another person of color helped restrain Neely during the incident.

Penny expresses that he did not consider himself a hero but was trying to protect and calm frightened passengers, including a woman of color who referred to him as such. He wanted the police to arrive and handle the situation, as he was praying for their intervention.

Initially, Penny was taken into custody but later released. However, further investigation led to an indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

Penny maintains that he was trying to keep Neely on the ground until the police arrived and took control of the situation. He didn’t want to be in that position but felt compelled to act in the face of Neely’s threats.

In Sunday’s video, he emphasized that the notion the incident was fueled by race is “ridiculous.” “I didn’t see a black man threatening passengers, I saw a man threatening passengers, a lot of whom were people of color,” Penny said.

“The man who helped restrain Mr. Neely was a person of color,” he pointed out. “A few days after the incident I read in the papers that a woman of color came out and called me a hero. Neely had a history of mental illness and was known as a street performer impersonating Michael Jackson. “I don’t believe that I’m a hero, but she was one of those people I was trying to protect, who were all scared,” he said. Penny was initially taken into custody and released. However, further investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office yielded an indictment. “I was trying to keep him on the ground until the police came. I was praying that the police would come and take this situation over. I didn’t want to be put in that situation, but I couldn’t just sit still and let him carry out these threats”