Marine veteran facing Jordan Neely subway choking death charge surrenders to police

Daniel Penny faces a manslaughter charge, ITV News' Ian Woods reports(Jordan Neely Michael Jackson impersonation video credit: YouTube/ Kenneth Vick)

A US Marine veteran who used a chokehold on a fellow subway passenger in New York City has turned himself into authorities after being charged with manslaughter.

Daniel Penny, 24, arrived at a Manhattan police station and was later taken to a courthouse, where he is expected to answer to criminal charges relating to the death of Jordan Neely on May 1.

Penny did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the station with his lawyers on Friday.

His legal team have said he was acting in self-defence when he pinned Mr Neely to the floor of the subway carriage with the help of two other passengers and held him in a chokehold for several minutes.

A freelance journalist who recorded Mr Neely struggling to free himself, then lapsing into unconsciousness, said he had been shouting at passengers and begging for money aboard the train, but had not attacked anyone.

Penny's lawyers have said Mr Neely he was "threatening" passengers, but have not elaborated.

His death has opened up fresh tensions, including over race and crime, and how those with mental illness are treated by city authorities.

Penny was originally questioned by police in the aftermath of Mr Neely's death, but released without charges.

Friends of Mr Neely said the former subway performer had been dealing with homelessness and mental illness in recent years.

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He had also been arrested multiple times and recently pleaded guilty for assaulting a 67-year-old woman leaving a subway station in 2021.

On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams gave an address in which he said Mr Neely's death should not have happened.

A second-degree manslaughter charge in New York will require the jury to find that a person has engaged in reckless conduct that creates an unjustifiable risk of death, and then consciously disregards that risk.

The law also requires that conduct to be a gross deviation from how a reasonable person would act in a similar situation.

Penny could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty, though any jail term could be far shorter.