New York – Ex-Marine Daniel Penny told the New York Post on Saturday that the chokehold killing of Jordan Neely had nothing to do with race — and everything to do with a broken system “that so desperately failed us.”
Penny was both soft-spoken and stoic about being at the center of a political and racial firestorm, as he faces criminal charges that could send him to prison for up to 15 years.
“This had nothing to do with race,” Penny said.
“I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist.
“I mean, it’s, it’s a little bit comical. Everybody who’s ever met me can tell you, I love all people, I love all cultures. You can tell by my past and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened.”
Penny said that he is not a vigilante, but a “normal guy.”
The confrontation on the train began after Neely allegedly began yelling at other straphangers and throwing trash. Penny said he could not go into detail about the events that then transpired because of his pending case, but he indicated it wasn’t like “anything I’d experienced before.”
“This was different, this time was much different,” Penny said.
He paused and said again, “This time was very different.”
Penny’s attorney Thomas Kenniff of the Manhattan law firm Raiser & Kenniff said that fellow F train passengers will back up his client’s account.
“I can tell you that the threats, the menacing, the terror that Jordan Neely introduced to that train has already been well documented. I don’t think it’s going to even be controverted. There are numerous witnesses from all different walks of life who have absolutely no motive to do anything other than to recount what actually happened. They are uniform in their recollection of events.”
Penny said he was coming back to Manhattan from school and was en route to his gym on West 23rd Street when the chaotic encounter erupted.
Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the wake of protests.
When asked if he would take similar action in the future, Penny said, “You know, I live an authentic and genuine life,” Penny said. “And I would — if there was a threat and danger in the present …”
When asked about the statements by Reverend Al Sharpton, Penny said that he did not know who Sharpton was and that he doesn’t watch the news.
Read The Entire Interview at The New York Post.
