On Monday, a jury acquitted Daniel Penny in the choke-hold death of Jordan Neely on an uptown F train last year. Neely’s death, which was caught on video, sparked outcry nationwide and led to weeks of protests; it also opened up a debate about safety and crime in the public-transit system post-pandemic.
“I just want to say, I miss my son,” Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, said after the verdict.
“My son didn’t have to go through this. I didn’t have to go through this either. It hurts, really, really hurts.”
A New York City medical examiner had ruled that Neely, a 30-year-old Black man who was unhoused, died from compression to his neck as a result of Penny’s choke hold, which prosecutors said lasted nearly six minutes. But a jury determined that Penny was not guilty of criminally negligent homicide. (The judge in the case had dismissed a second-degree manslaughter charge on Friday after the jurors deadlocked on that charge.) The 26-year-old would have faced up to four years in prison if convicted.
The incident happened in May 2023, when witnesses say Neely shouted and acted erratically after boarding the F train. Penny, a former Marine, restrained Neely by placing him in a minutes-long choke hold with assistance from other passengers. Video shot by one of the straphangers showed Neely struggling, while someone in the car yelled at Penny, “He’s dying … you need to let him go.” By the time the train reached the next station, Neely was limp. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
After his indictment, Penny, who is white, told the New York Post that choking Neely “had nothing to do with race.” He continued, “I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist.”
While Penny is a free man, his legal troubles are not over yet. Last week, Zachery filed a civil lawsuit against him, arguing that Penny caused his son’s death through “negligence, carelessness, and recklessness.” He is seeking unspecified damages for physical assault and battery.