OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
2:18 PM – Thursday, December 5, 2024
As the jury considers whether to find Daniel Penny guilty of manslaughter, Jordan Neely’s father is now suing Penny for his son’s death, which occurred from strangulation on a New York City subway car after Neely repeatedly threatened to kill onlookers in his vicinity.
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The 26-year-old Long Island Marine veteran is accused of negligent contact, assault, and battery that resulted in Neely’s injuries and death last year in the lawsuit, which was submitted to the New York Supreme Court on Wednesday.
According to the case, Neely’s father, Andre Zachary, “demands judgment awarding damages in a sum which exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower Courts, which would otherwise have jurisdiction.”
As jurors in Penny’s four-week trial in Manhattan broke for the second time without returning a verdict, it was filed on Wednesday.
On May 1st, 2023, Neely, 30, passed away after Penny, 26, held him in a chokehold after the seemingly disturbed homeless man started screaming at people and threatening those around him, instilling fear in bystanders on a packed F train.
Another interesting detail revolves around the fact that although mainstream media sources have reported that Penny put him in a chokehold for around “6 minutes,” an actual witness at the scene told police that Penny had held him for “about two minutes and 55 seconds,” the BBC reported. One witness even recorded the chokehold with his phone.
According to Penny and other witnesses, Neely had threatened to “kill a motherf—er” and stated that he didn’t care if he was sent back to jail, asserting that “someone” was going to “die today.”
Neely’s death, according to defense lawyers, was caused by a combination of drug abuse, including synthetic marijuana, schizophrenia, a genetic disorder, and physical pressure from Penny holding him down from charging anyone.
According to the Department of Behavioral Health, “Synthetic marijuana can cause hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia, confusion, elevated heart rate, unconsciousness, and even death. [It] can cause a person to become incoherent, disorderly, and aggressive. Effects can last for hours and, because the strains of synthetic marijuana are constantly changing, they are very difficult for doctors to treat.”
However, prosecutors argue that Penny went “way too far” and was “criminally reckless” in his struggle with Neely.
On Wednesday, the jury asked again to see the bodycam footage of Penny’s precinct interrogation interview with investigators and the NYPD officers’ arrival at the site while EMS attempted to revive Neely.
One unidentified police source also alleged that Neely was still alive when emergency personnel arrived, but they were reportedly hesitant to touch him out of fear that they could contract HIV, as he had open wounds, and because he reeked of fecal matter and urine. Nevertheless, this claim has not been confirmed and is merely hearsay.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who will soon be heading the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Elon Musk, previously expressed his thoughts on the matter on Fox News last year.
Some legal experts like Jeffrey Lichtman, a New York defense lawyer who previously defended drug lord El Chapo and alleged gangster John Gotti Jr., do not believe that this case will go anywhere. He argued that prosecutors will most likely not succeed in their case against Penny since the state must demonstrate that the defendant knew his actions could result in death, which he says is extremely difficult to prove.
“It’s not like he snuck up behind him and hit him over the head with a brick or a bat,” Lichtman stated, noting that Neely could have submitted to being held down, ending the struggle.
Penny’s statement to investigators was previously read aloud in court.
“I wasn’t trying to injure him. I’m just trying to keep him from hurting anybody else,” Penny told detectives in the videotaped interview shown to jurors. He also noted “that’s what we are taught in the Marine Corps.”
“I was scared for myself but I looked around there were women and children, he was yelling in their faces saying these threats. I just couldn’t sit still,” Penny added.
“I just wanted to keep him from getting to people.”
Police also told the press, specifically CBS News, that Penny had told other passengers to quickly call 911 during the struggle, before putting Neely into a “recovery” position.
“If a person is unconscious but is breathing and has no other life-threatening conditions, they should be placed in the recovery position. Putting someone in the recovery position will keep their airway clear and open. It also ensures that any vomit or fluid won’t cause them to choke,” according to NHS-UK.
Last week, NYC Mayor Eric Adams stood up for the former marine on a podcast.
Meanwhile, Social media users commented on the ongoing trial and the recent news of Neely’s father’s lawsuit, which has garnered much attention in the media.
“Jordan Neely’s parents are suing Daniel Penny over the death of their son. Nevermind the coroner’s report. Nevermind the fact that they abandoned him and forced him to live out on the street for years instead of having him institutionalized, when he posed a danger to them,” said X user Ian Miles Cheong.
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