As Breitbart News detailed:
Last week, a medical examiner in New York deemed the death of Jordan Neely a homicide. The incident occurred on Monday this week on the F train at the east Houston and Lafayette Street station after Neely had been allegedly throwing trash and yelling at passengers about his economic misfortunes. Neely had a history of mental issues and often frequented the station as a Michael Jackson impersonator. He also had an active warrant for his arrest for a felony assault.
Officers took Penny into custody for questioning after Neely’s death but declined to charge him with any crimes and let him walk free afterward.
However, protests erupted in New York City the day after Penny’s release from law enforcement, with many calling for him to be arrested.
“This man needs to be prosecuted cause what you will do if you do not prosecute him, in my judgment, is you will set a standard of vigilantism that we cannot tolerate,” Rev. Al Sharpton said. “The precedent alone is a threat to all of us.”
Law enforcement’s initial reluctance to charge Penny, coupled with a video of the incident surfacing on social media, led to protests at the subway station where Neely died. Some protesters reportedly climbed onto the subway tracks and chanted, “No justice, no peace,” and, “Abolish the police.”
Other protesters likened Neely’s death to George Floyd’s death, which sparked nationwide protests in 2020.
“The days of murdering us and getting away with it are fucking over. If we have to strap up and come out here and just start popping, it’s gonna happen. We’re tired of it,” one protester claimed on Friday.
“They didn’t learn after George Floyd. They didn’t fucking learn,” another protester shouted.
Multiple protesters were arrested Monday night on charges of “disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration over sound amplification,” according to the New York Post.
Now, Neely faces second-degree manslaughter charges in a criminal complaint arising out of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, the Post reported.
Penny is set to turn himself in at the NYPD’s 5th Precinct in Manhattan on Friday morning, the Post added.
Penny’s attorneys claimed he never intended to harm Neely in a statement.
“We would first like to express, on behalf of Daniel Penny, our condolences to those close to Mr. Neely,” his attorneys said. “When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived.”
“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” his attorneys added. “We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.”
Ben Von Klemperer via Storyful
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
