A person who claimed to have witnessed Daniel Penny place Jordan Neely in a chokehold before his death has called the Marine veteran a hero.
Earlier this month, 30-year-old Neely died after Daniel Penny - a 24-year-old Marine veteran - placed him in a chokehold while on board an F Train in Manhattan, as reported by The Washington Post.
According to a bystander, Neely was allegedly yelling: "I don't have food. I don't have a drink. I am fed up," on the train before being subdued by Penny and fellow riders.
On May 3, a medical examiner officially ruled his cause of death as compression of the neck, and his cause of death a homicide. A spokesperson said: "This is not a ruling on intent or culpability, which is for the DA and criminal justice system to consider," per the publication.
Perry's legal firm released a statement about the death and noted that Penny had "never intended to harm," Neely - who was a homeless Michael Jackson impersonator - and pointed out that he suffered from mental health issues.
The statement read: "Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness," per ABC 7.
"When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived. Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death," they added.
Penny turned himself in following the manslaughter charge against him. He was set free after his bond was set at $100,000 but he is due back in court July 17.
The fatal incident has sparked protests across the city, especially on subway platforms. Many people are demanding justice for Neely and pointing out the system's failures in supporting people in need.
However, an NYC passenger who claimed to witness the incident has told Fox News Digital that Penny is a hero, adding: "It was self-defense, and I believe in my heart that he saved a lot of people that day that could have gotten hurt.
"I’m sitting on a train reading my book, and, all of a sudden, I hear someone spewing this rhetoric. He said, 'I don’t care if I have to kill an F, I will. I’ll go to jail, I’ll take a bullet,'" the woman who is in her 60s recalled.
"I’m looking at where we are in the tube, in the sardine can, and I’m like, 'OK, we’re in between stations. There’s nowhere we can go,'" she continued. "The people on that train, we were scared. We were scared for our lives."
The woman stated that the former marine "cared for people" and revealed that after the altercation, she and at least three other passengers thanked him.
According to Neely's aunt, Carolyn Neely, her nephew descended into "a complete mess" after his mother, Christie Neely, was reportedly strangled to death and then stuffed into a suitcase in 2007 when he was just 14.
It was after this that he sunk into a deep depression, and did not receive appropriate treatment for his mental illness, per The New York Post.
"My sister Christie was murdered in '07 and after that, he has never been the same [...] It had a big impact on him. He developed depression and it grew and became more serious. He was schizophrenic, PTSD," Carolyn stated.
"Doctors knew his condition and he needed to be treated for that. The whole system just failed him. He fell through the cracks of the system," she sadly added.
Our thoughts continue to be with all those affected by this tragedy.
