A few of our stories and columns are now in front of the paywall. We at The Chief-Leader remain committed to independent reporting on labor and civil service. It's been our mission since 1897. You can have a hand in ensuring that our reporting remains relevant in the decades to come. Consider supporting The Chief, which you can do for as little as $3.20 a month.
To the editor:
Daniel Penny should be confident he will beat the manslaughter charges in connection with the choking death of Jordan Neely on the subway last May. If he has capable attorneys defending him there is almost no chance he will be convicted of anything.
He really should receive honorary recognition for taking necessary action to prevent a dangerous person from acting on the threats he was making in the subway car.
This case couldn’t be more different from the George Floyd case where the victim was in no possible position to be a threat to four armed police officers. Penny was on his own, and for his and the safety of others in the subway car, he had to make sure Neely no longer posed a threat to him or anyone else.
It’s a shame that a hero has to be the victim in a political and judicial game of “pin the blame on the good guy, and make the bad guy the victim.” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not qualified to be the top prosecutor in the most important city in the nation.
Michael J. Gorman
2 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
wpeakes
Daniel Penny is a trained soldier (military). I don't understand how someone with his amount of training couldn't have known when Jordan Neely was still alive and no longer posed a threat. This is especially true because, according to videos taken by other passengers, at least one other person was holding Mr. Neely's arm while Mr. Penny had him in a choke-hold. In any case, the physical contest between the two was clearly a mismatch and Mr. Neely lost his life never having actually hurt anyone...the threat is not enough for so grave an action. In some way, Mr. Penny must be held accountable for the loss of life.
Wednesday, March 27 Report this
Admin
Penny is a trained soldier, not a trained cop, though Gov. Hochul might not know the difference. It's easy to second-guess after the fact. But Penny was acting in response to a threat. For that, he should not go to jail.
Thursday, March 28 Report this