Jordan Neely: Daniel Penny charged over New York subway death

Former US marine faces manslaughter charges in death that sparked debate over treatment of homeless people

A makeshift memorial for Jordan Neely outside the Broadway-Lafayette subway station where he died after being placed in a chokehold by a fellow passenger. AFP

Daniel Penny, a white former US marine who killed a homeless black man by placing him in a chokehold on a New York City subway, was charged with manslaughter on Friday.

Witnesses said Jordan Neely, who was known for his impersonations of Michael Jackson, was speaking loudly about being hungry and thirsty.

Mr Penny had approached Mr Neely and placed him in a chokehold that lasted for 15 minutes, one witness said.

Video footage showed two other men helping Mr Penny to restrain Mr Neely. The identities of the two men have not been revealed, and it is not clear if they will face similar charges.

Mr Neely's death was ruled as a homicide as a result of compression of the neck.

“Jordan Neely should still be alive today,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

Mr Penny, from Long Island, surrendered to authorities in New York's Manhattan on Friday.

A lawyer for Mr Penny said he had turned himself in “voluntarily and with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation”.

A judge authorised Mr Penny’s release on $100,000 bond and ordered him to surrender his passport and not to leave New York without approval.

Prosecutors said they were seeking a grand jury indictment.

Mr Penny is due back in court on July 17.

If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.

Mr Neely's death sparked debate over the city's perceived failure to support homeless people struggling with mental health problems.

Friends of Mr Neely said he had a history of mental illness, and police said he had been arrested before. His mother was murdered, by strangulation, when he was 14 years old.

Mayor Eric Adams said Mr Neely's death should never have happened.

“My heart goes out to Jordan’s family, who are suffering great pain and uncertainty about the circumstances of his death,” Mr Adams said.

The New York City mayor was criticised last week over his initial response to Mr Neely's death, in which he said: “We cannot just blankly say what a passenger should or should not do in a situation like that.”

Agencies contributed to this report