A New York grand jury indicted former U.S. Marine Daniel Penny in connection with the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, a Black unhoused man, Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday.
The big picture: Penny, who is white, was initially charged last month with second-degree manslaughter over the train incident. He said in interviews that he was trying to hold Neely until police arrived as the 30-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator, known for his performances in Times Square, experienced an apparent mental health episode.
- The charges in the grand jury indictment have yet to be unsealed.
Zoom out: Neely's May 1 death brought to the fore issues of homelessness and mental illness in New York City subways and on the streets that led the Democratic mayor and N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to increase police presence and deployment of mental health workers in subways.
- The fatal chokehold incident on the F train sparked an outcry among civil rights groups and advocates for unhoused people, but 24-year-old Penny maintains he was "trying to restrain" Neely and wasn't "trying to choke him to death."
State of play: Representatives for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment on Penny's indictment Wednesday as grand jury proceedings are not publicly disclosed, but Adams confirmed the news on Wednesday evening.
- "I appreciate DA Bragg conducting a thorough investigation into the death of Jordan Neely," he said in an emailed statement.
- "Like I said when the DA first brought charges, I have the utmost faith in the judicial process, and now that the Grand Jury has indicted Daniel Penny, a trial and justice can move forward."
