New evidence in Daniel Penny’s ‘chokehold’ death case: Support for young Navy veteran grows

Police officers responding to the scene at a New York City subway station where a homeless man who had been placed in a chokehold by a Navy veteran lay unconscious opted to first administer Narcan instead of CPR, a court heard Thursday. Daniel Penny, 25, will stand trial this month on charges of manslaughter and negligent homicide after placing Jordan Neely, a homeless Michael Jackson impersonator with mental health problems, in a six-minute, fatal chokehold in May 2023. Giving Neely a dose of Narcan before performing CPR minutes later could be crucial for the defense, as Penny’s attorneys oppose the state’s efforts to prevent them from calling witnesses to testify about Neely’s history of substance abuse and mental illness.