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Daniel Penny said he was in "a very vulnerable position" as he put Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a New York City subway in his first remarks since being acquitted.
During a new interview with Fox News' Jeanine Pirro, Penny spoke out for the first time since a jury found him not guilty in connection to the May 2023 death of Neely, a 30-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator who was experiencing homelessness.
On May 1, 2023, Penny, a former Marine, confronted Neely after he allegedly shouted at passengers that he was hungry, thirsty, and didn't care whether he died. Penny forced Neely onto the ground and put him in a chokehold until he stopped breathing.
“He was just threatening to kill people. He was threatening to go to jail forever, go to jail for the rest of his life,” Penny said of Neely in the interview. “And now, where I’m on the ground with him, I’m on my back in a very vulnerable position if I would have just let go."
When asked about being in a "vulnerable position," Penny said he was on his back during the chokehold and Neely could've turned around and started "doing what he said to me."
Penny was initially charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Neely's chokehold death. Prosecutors dropped the manslaughter charge against Penny when the 12-person jury was unable to come to a unanimous verdict on Friday (December 6). He was acquitted by the jury on Monday (December 9) of criminally negligent homicide.
Penny maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty and arguing that he used a "civilian restraint" to protect passengers from Neely, who struggled with depression and schizophrenia. Prosecutors argued that Penny knew his actions could kill due to his military training.
In his interview with Fox, Penny claimed he wasn't a confrontational person and was "very uncomfortable" with all the attention he's received since the fatal incident.
“I didn’t want any type of attention or praise, and I still don’t,” he said. “The guilt I would have felt if someone did get hurt, if … he did do what he was threatening to do, I would never be able to live with myself.”
“And I’ll take a million court appearances and people calling me names and people hating me just to keep one of those people from getting hurt or killed,” Penny added.
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