Subway riders recall chaotic scene before Daniel Penny put Jordan Neely in chokehold

Subway straphangers who witnessed the May 2023 chokehold incidental that ended successful Jordan Neely’s death shed airy connected Friday connected the circumstances preceding the chaotic clash arsenic Daniel Penny’s manslaughter proceedings wrapped up its archetypal week of testimony.

A assemblage heard however Neely caused panic among riders erstwhile helium boarded the car of an uptown F bid astatine Second Ave., threw down his overgarment and started screaming.

“If I retrieve correctly, helium said: ‘I don’t springiness a damn. I’ll termination a motherf—er. Oh, I’m acceptable to die.’ Something similar that,” Alethea Gittings, a 50-year metropolis nonmigratory who rides the bid each day, said, describing Neely’s behavior.

“I was frightened s—less.”

Start-up laminitis Dan Couvreur, 29, said helium besides felt Neely’s outburst was retired of the mean compared to what he’d witnessed successful his years riding the subway, leaving him “terrified.”

“What truly stood retired was the tone,” Couvreur said.

“I’ve ridden the subway to and from work, going retired and stuff. This was conscionable different benignant of code of desperation helium had successful his dependable — the anger, the aggressiveness and that code truly conscionable stood out.”

Lori Sitro, a probe director, was taking her 5-year-old lad to a therapy assignment erstwhile Neely boarded the train.

“He was shouting successful people’s faces: ‘I don’t person water. I don’t person food. I don’t person a home. I privation to wounded people. I privation to spell to Rikers. I privation to spell to prison.’ And helium was getting progressively belligerent,” Sitro testified.

“He was getting to astir a foot, a [foot’s] region from them, close up into their faces. He was lunging astatine people, successful antithetic directions. It was precise erratic and unpredictable.”

Andrew Savulich; Barry Williams for New York Daily News

Jordan Neely and Daniel Penny. (Andrew Savulich; Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

In his opening statement past week, Penny’s lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, told jurors they would perceive that his lawsuit had jumped into enactment erstwhile Neely turned his sights toward a clump of women and said, “I volition kill,” arsenic a parent hid her kid down his stroller.

Sitro’s grounds backed up portion of that communicative — but not the alleged threat.

“I really took the stroller that I had and I enactment it successful beforehand of my lad to make a obstruction of sorts, you know, due to the fact that I didn’t cognize what was going to happen,” she testified.

“Did Mr. Neely ever lunge astatine you and say: ‘I volition kill?’” authoritative Jillian Shartrand asked.

“No, helium did not,” Sitro testified.

The ma of 2 said she felt “very relieved” erstwhile Penny took Neely down from behind.

Gittings, Couvreur and Sitro testified that they did not spot Neely carrying a limb oregon directing his ire astatine anyone successful particular. He was not armed, jurors person been told.

Court evidence

Police bodycam video shows medics (right) moving connected Jordan Neely arsenic constabulary acceptable up a transgression country successful the subway station. (Court evidence)

Penny, 26, of Suffolk County, L.I., has pleaded not blameworthy to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. If the assemblage finds him blameworthy of the apical count, helium could look up to 15 years successful authorities prison.

The erstwhile U.S. Marine, who served successful the subject for 4 years, was successful assemblage studying architecture and moving arsenic a barback successful Brooklyn astatine the clip of the incident. His lawyers person argued that his actions were reasonable, saying the lawsuit was about “a young antheral who did for others what we would each privation idiosyncratic to bash for us.”

In the years earlier helium died, Neely, a autochthonal of Manhattan and New Jersey, battled homelessness, untreated intelligence unwellness and cause addiction and racked up a important apprehension record. He performed Michael Jackson songs connected the streets and subways erstwhile helium was well.

Prosecutors person acknowledged that Neely’s actions connected the bid provoked tenable fearfulness and that Penny’s archetypal intent to support passengers arsenic the bid traveled betwixt stations for astir 30 seconds was appropriate.

They accidental helium crossed the threshold into criminality, though, by continuing to restrain Neely successful a chokehold that would beryllium fatal for 5 minutes and 53 seconds aft the subway reached the Broadway-Lafayette presumption and passengers fled the bid car.

Jurors adjacent week are expected to perceive grounds from the aesculapian examiner, which ruled Neely died by homicide by compression of the neck. Penny’s ineligible squad is expected to situation that determination by bringing up his wellness past and erstwhile cause use.

The anonymous assemblage sheet is besides expected to perceive from a antheral who assisted Penny connected the train. Prosecutors person said the antheral told Penny to easiness up connected his grasp astir Neely’s cervix portion assuring Penny that helium had Neely’s arms nether control, but that Penny did not fto up.