A Marine veteran who used a chokehold on an aggressive and threatening subway rider was acquitted on Monday.
A Manhattan jury delivered the verdict, clearing Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely’s death last year. A more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed earlier in deliberations because the jury deadlocked on that count.
Both charges were felonies and carried the possibility of prison time.
Penny put Jordan Neely in a chokehold for around 6 minutes, which other subway passengers partially captured on video.
Penny’s lawyers said he was protecting himself and other subway passengers from a volatile, mentally ill man who was making alarming remarks and gestures.
The defense also disputed a city medical examiner’s finding that the chokehold killed Neely.
Prosecutors said Penny reacted far too forcefully to someone he perceived as a threat.
There were sometimes dueling demonstrations outside the courthouse, and high-profile Republican politicians portrayed Penny as a hero while prominent Democrats attended Neely’s funeral.
The verdict capped a trial that took a tumultuous turn last Friday, when jurors said they couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on the manslaughter charge. The judge then dismissed it at prosecutors’ request.
Penny served four years in the Marines and went on to study architecture.
