NYC Mayor Eric Adams Seemingly Defends Daniel Penny, The Marine Vet Who Choked Jordan Neely To Death On Subway

Adams expressed his understanding of Petty's actions that led to the death of the homeless man.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams seemingly defended the actions of Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran on trial for his fatal choking of Jordan Neely while on the subway.

Adams recently appeared on 710 WOR’s The Rob Astorino Show on Nov. 30, where he spoke on the failure of New York’s mental health system that prompted Neely’s outbursts. In the conversation, he stated that Penny did “what we should have done as a city” to stop Neely and the escalating situation.

“The young man, in this case, was going within our system, throughout the revolving door of our system. Now, we’re on the subway where we’re hearing someone talking about hurting people, killing people,” explained the elected official, as reported by The New York Post. “You have someone on that subway who was responding, doing what we should have done as a city in a state of having a mental health facility.”

Penny is currently on trial for Neely’s death, as jurors began their deliberations on whether to convict him on Dec. 3. During the incident, which took place in May 2023, Penny placed Neely in a chokehold for around 6 minutes. Prior to the altercation, Neely was yelling at fellow passengers on the train that he was thirsty and did not care if he died.

While protestors have condemned Penny’s deadly act of vigilantism, Adams elaborated on his stance in defense of him. He said that he understands the fear of those on the train and law enforcement.

“Those passengers were afraid,” he continued. “I’ve been on the subway system. I know what it is as a police officer to wrestle or fight with someone. It is imperative that we look at the totality of this problem.”

He added, “Based on all the facts that’s laid out, a jury of his peers will make the right decision. I don’t want to prejudge that… We have to recognize we have a mental health crisis, and we’re not doing enough to solve it.”

Penny awaits the jury’s decision on his charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Despite this, the mayor made clear that he understands his plight. Furthermore, Adams has his own legal troubles to deal with as this New York case wages on.