Daniel Penny, a former U.S. Marine who was acquitted of criminal charges in the death of a Black man on a New York City subway, has filed to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the victim’s father.
In court filings on Monday, Penny’s lawyers denied claims laid out by Andre Zachary, Jordan Neely’s father, that he is culpable for civil damages after using a chokehold on Neely that ultimately led to his death.
Instead, said Penny’s lawyer Steven Raiser, “all injuries or damages” were caused by Neely’s own “culpable conduct, negligence, carelessness, and lack of care.”
“We are committed to defending this ill-conceived civil action brought by Jordan Neely’s estranged father with same the vigor with which we defended the criminal case,” Raiser said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Penny placed Neely in a chokehold on May 1, 2023, after the Michael Jackson impersonator began shouting at passengers on the subway that he was hungry, thirsty and suicidal.
Video of the incident showed Penny held Neely in a headlock position for several minutes as another passenger pinned Neely’s arms and a third held down his shoulder.