Former US Marine to be charged over subway chokehold death

Prosecutors in the United States plan to arrest and charge the man — filmed putting another passenger on the New York subway into a chokehold that killed him — with second-degree manslaughter.

Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old US Marine Corps veteran was filmed putting 30-year-old Jordan Neely in a chokehold while they rode on the F train in Manhattan at the start of this month.

Neely died from a compression of the neck the medical examiner said.

"We can confirm that Daniel Penny will be arrested on a charge of manslaughter in the second degree. We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which we expect to take place tomorrow," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Thursday.

Penny was questioned and released hours after Neely died. His lawyers, previously said their client, had acted in self-defense.

Protests in New York over Neely's death

A video of the encounter on May 1 posted online by Juan Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist, showed a man lying beneath Neely asking other passengers to call emergency services and holding Neely in a headlock position while Neely tried to break free.

Another passenger pinned Neely's arms while a third person held down his shoulder. He lost consciousness during the struggle.

Neely had apparantly been screaming and begging for money aboard the train before the takedown.

The incident has sparked protests, with demonstrators calling for justice for Neely, who was homeless, and pointing out that being poor is not a crime. Some described it as a "lynching" and an example of "white vigilantism" against people of color.

Others, including Mayor Eric Adams, have urged caution, calling on New Yorkers to wait for the full facts and investigations

Incident shining a light on mental health 

After meeting Neely's family, on Wednesday Adams called for improved mental health services.

"Jordan Neely did not deserve to die," he said. "His death is a tragedy that never should have happened."

Neely was known by some in New York as he regularly impersonated Michael Jackson and danced in the Times Square transit hub.

According to friends, he struggled with worsening mental health in recent years.

He had been arrested several times, and had recently pleaded guilty to assaulting a 67-year-old woman in 2021 as she left a subway station. After pleading guilty, he missed a court date, leading to a warrant for his arrest that was still active at the time of his death.

lo/kb (AP, Reuters)