Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran who put homeless man Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold earlier in May, has broken his silence about the incident.
In an interview with the New York Post published Saturday, Penny said that he was “deeply saddened” by Neely’s death.
“It’s tragic what happened to him,” Penny said. “Hopefully, we can change the system that’s so desperately failed us.”
Penny, who was criminally charged over the incident, refuted any claims that he was racist for restraining Neely, a Black man. The Marine veteran flatly said that the incident “had nothing to do with race.”
“I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist,” Penny explained. “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 added.
Penny told the Post that he was on his way to the gym when Neely entered his subway car on May 1. Neely, who reportedly suffered from mental illness, began yelling about going to jail and being hungry and tired.
Passengers have said that Neely was yelling and acting erratically when Penny intervened by putting him in a chokehold. Penny’s lawyers have argued that the Marine veteran was trying to defend himself and passengers by restraining Neely.
www.foxnews.com/us/daniel-penny-breaks-silence-jordan-neely-death-nothing-do-race