NYC Subway Chokehold Case

I don’t think Daniel Perry should be convicted of the death of Jordan Neely. I believe Mr. Perry reasonably acted in self-defense of others. I say that despite representing several clients with mental health issues that have resulted in tragic deaths and suicides due to claims of medical malpractice. I felt compelled to voice my opinion on this case for several reasons discussed below.

Old Haunts of New York

On May 1, 2023, Daniel Perry, a former US Marine and current architecture student, finished class in Downtown Brooklyn and boarded a Manhattan bound F train at the Jay Street/Metrotech subway stop. I know this stop well. In 2008, I started my career as an Assistant District Attorney for the Brooklyn DA’s Office located at 350 Jay Street. This was my stop.

Mr. Perry was listening to his ear buds when the train pulled into the Second Avenue station located in the East Village in lower Manhattan. I also know this stop well. When I was working at the Brooklyn DA’s Office, I lived at 156 East Second Street above Supper, an Italian restaurant between Avenue A and B. I was technically in (but really on the outskirts of) Alphabet City. Avenue A was “okay”, Avenue B was “bad,” Avenue C was “crazy” and I would rather not address when happens on Avenue D. This too was my subway stop.

Jordan Neely, entered the subway at the Second Avenue station, slammed his jacket on the ground, and yelled that if he didn’t get some food or water, he was going to kill someone and didn’t care if he went to jail. He began getting in passenger’s faces and made threatening statements to not just men, but also women and children. Witnesses later testified at trial that they were “terrified.”

I have experienced situations similar to these on NYC subways, but admittedly not to the extent described by the witnesses in this case. I always asked myself, if something went down, “would I be courageous enough to step in?” That’s the tricky part, being able to assess when something is about to go down. You only know with certainty in hindsight. On some occasions, that might be too late.

Mr. Perry felt a duty to step in before things got out of hand. After all, he’s a US Marine. Every society needs the archetype of a protector. US Marines, like police officers and fire fighters, are ours.

Roughly 30 seconds before the subway pulls into the next stop, Mr. Perry placed Mr. Neely in a chokehold, took him down to the ground, and urged passengers to call the police while the train was stopped at the station. For the next six minutes, when passengers held the doors open, Mr. Neely began writhing on the ground. Later on, two passengers held his arms down. During the last 60 seconds of this incident, Mr. Neely stopped moving, but Mr. Perry continued to place the chokehold until the police arrived.

When NYPD did arrive, Mr. Neely was unresponsive and only had a faint pulse. They were unable to revive him with CPR and he was later pronounced dead at a local Emergency Room.

Manslaughter, Recklessness, and Self-Defense

Mr. Perry was charged with Manslaughter in the Second Degree. NY Penal Law section125.15 defines the offense as “recklessly caus[ing] the death of another person.” NY Penal Law section 15.05 defines recklessness when a person is “aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result will occur . . . [which] constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.”

The defense has mounted two primary defenses: (1.) Mr. Perry merely hoped to restrain Mr. Neely until the police arrived and was not applying a reckless amount of pressure to the neck. (2.) Mr. Perry acted in self-defense of another.

NY Penal Law section 35.15 defines justifiable deadly physical force as when the “actor reasonably believes that such other person is using or about to use deadly physical force.”

I do not believe that, beyond a reasonable doubt, Mr. Perry acted recklessly in applying the chokehold to restrain Mr. Neely. Not only that, I think Mr. Perry was reasonably acting in self-defense of the other passengers on the train. After watching the 30-minute police interrogation, I am left with the resounding impression that someone had to step into that situation before it got out of hand.

Sentencing Considerations

Manslaughter in the Second Degree is a Class C non-violent felony. Meaning, Mr. Perry can be sentenced to no jail time or probation if convicted. For a first-time offender, that will likely be the result if the jury returns a guilty verdict. But that’s not the point. For the last year and a half, Mr. Perry has gone through nothing short of a complete nightmare. And now, whenever there’s an altercation and we need a protector to step in, that person might be reticent to get involved.

With that all said, Mr. Neely’s story embodies that of untold injustice and victimhood. When he was only 14 years old, his mother was reportedly murdered by an abusive boyfriend. Mr. Neely was placed in foster care. It was around this time that he developed schizophrenia which, I can only assume, was due in part to the psychological trauma thrust upon him. Mr. Neely’s life spiraled into a cycle of mental illness, petty arrests, substance use, and homelessness. He was a young man who needed support, love, and care. But the systems of New York City failed to fill that void.

Which makes you wonder, is that a void that can really be filled by a system anyway?

Jury revisits key videos in NYC subway chokehold death trial | AP News

Jury to Decide Whether Daniel Penny was Justified in Using Chokehold on Jordan Neely – Newsweek

Daniel Penny: Closing arguments in the NYC subway chokehold trial start today | CNN

Jurors Set to Weigh Daniel Penny’s Fate in Choking Case That Divided New York – The New York Times

Jury revisits key videos in NYC subway chokehold death trial – The Washington Post

Daniel Penny’s subway chokehold trial: The key takeaways – ABC News