Subway driver who held man in New York chokehold death says he wanted ex-Marine to ‘let go’

NEW YORK (AP) — A subway commuter who helped a former Marine restrain an agitated man aboard a Manhattan subway last year testified Tuesday that he tried to convince the veteran to give up his Loosening his grip on the man’s neck.

In a New York City courtroom, Eric Gonzalez recalled the chaotic fight that ensued after Daniel Penny had already pinned the man, Jordan Neely, to the floor of the train and placed him in a tight chokehold.

“I alerted Daniel Penny to my presence,” Gonzalez told jurors. “I said, ‘I’m going to grab his hands so you can let go.'”

Penny is charged with manslaughter in the May 2023 death of Neely, a 30-year-old man who was homeless. Prosecutors allege Penny acted “indifferent” to Neely’s life by holding him in a chokehold for nearly six minutes.

Penny’s defense attorneys, meanwhile, say their client was trying to protect himself and his passengers from a “seething, psychotic” person who, before Penny’s intervention, had been screaming at drivers and making disturbing statements about wanting to die.

But Gonzalez, a casino manager and daily subway rider, had no knowledge of this when he “jumped in to help,” he revealed Tuesday. Rather, he said he wanted to defuse the situation by giving Penny an “alternative” to continuing to choke Neely. He remembered telling Penny, “Let him go, take your arm away from his neck.”

Jurors were then shown a slowed-down video of the altercation in which Gonzalez appeared to say something to Penny. As Penny continued to choke Neely, Gonzalez held Neely’s arms and wrist.

“Jordan Neely’s body goes limp and I let go, and shortly after that Daniel Penny lets go,” Gonzalez added. He checked the man’s pulse and tried to get him into a “recovery position” before leaving the scene.

In their cross-examination, defense attorneys sought to cast doubt on the viewer-turned-participant’s account, noting that his testimony came weeks after Gonzalez learned that prosecutors did not plan to charge him for his involvement in the fight , announced.

They also noted that Gonzalez’s story changed over time: He initially told prosecutors that Neely attacked him, even though surveillance footage showed he was not on the train when the confrontation began.

“I tried to justify my actions because I had him in my hands,” Gonzalez admitted Tuesday.

In court on Tuesday, Penny sat upright and stared ahead as the video played. Members of Neely’s family sat at the front of the gallery, including his father, who hung his head for most of the hearing.

The trial has shone a spotlight on issues of public safety and disorder in the city’s transit system. The case has divided many New Yorkers, often along political lines. Penny, who is white, has become a cause célèbre on the right; Neely, who was Black, is frequently mentioned in the city’s racial justice protests, some of which took place right outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

On Tuesday, Gonzalez said he was aware of the publicity surrounding the case and feared he could be “prosecuted under federal law” for his testimony.

“There are all these protests, I’m scared for myself, I’m scared for my family,” he said.