‘History of Violent and Erratic Behavior’: Daniel Penny Releases Statement on Jordan Neely Death

Daniel Penny, a former marine who placed Jordan Neely in a lethal chokehold on Monday night on a northbound F train in New York City, released a statement casting blame on politicians for turning a blind eye to mental illness.

“For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”

While Penny, through his legal team, expressed “condolences to those close to Mr. Neely,” his statement went on to argue that the former soldier was acting in self-defense to protect passengers in the subway car.

“Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness. When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived,” the letter continues.

“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

Neely’s death has polarized the city. Many are pointing to skyrocketing levels of violence on public transit, while others see the episode as an unequivocal act of racism.

Despite Neely’s extensive criminal record–law enforcement sources have told media outlets that he has been arrested at least 40 times with charges ranging from assault to disorderly conduct and fare evasion–Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul condemned Penny’s actions in a press conference.

“Before we get started answering your questions,” the Governor told reporters on Thursday afternoon, “I do want to acknowledge how horrific it was to view a video of Jordan Neely being killed for being a passenger on the subway trains.”

Asked by a journalist what the appropriate response should be when “somebody’s acting erratically, [and] threatening people,” Hochul deflected.

“I think it’s a case-by-case situation. This was an unarmed individual who had been on the subway many times, known by many of the regular travelers. And you know, sometimes people have an episode where they’re displaying their feelings in a loud and emotional way, but it became very clear that he was not going to, you know, cause harm to these other people. And the video of three individuals holding him down until the last breath was snuffed out of him. I would say it was a very extreme response.”

Eyewitness testimony from passengers aboard the subway train ostensibly confirmed that Neely had made repeated threats to the well-being of passengers, stating his willingness to “hurt anyone” and saying that he was unbothered by the prospect of returning to jail or being killed.

However, many remain deeply disturbed by the episode and protesters flocked to the subway platform at Broadway-Lafayette station on Wednesday to demand action over Neely’s death with many blaming it on racism and the city’s handling of homeless people.

“There was no empathy on that train car,” Karim Walker, a homeless advocate working with the Urban Justice Center, told the New York Times. “He did not need to nor did he deserve to die in the manner that he did,” Walker asserted. “That’s what really scares me and that’s what really breaks my heart.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams struck a different chord from Governor Hochul, suggesting it was “irresponsible” to determine fault before all the facts are known.

“We do know there were serious mental health issues in play here which is why our administration has made record investment in providing care to those who ended it and getting people off the streets and subways, and out of dangerous situations.”

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y) denounced the Mayor’s comments as a “new low.”

“This honestly feels like a new low: not being able to clearly condemn a public murder because the victim was of a social status some would deem ‘too low’ to care about,” the New York representative wrote on Twitter. “The last sentence is especially rich from an admin trying to cut the very services that could have helped him.”

Penny is being represented by Thomas Kenniff, a Republican veteran of the Iraq War and a rival of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, to whom he lost in the 2021 DA race.