Videos of Daniel Penny's interrogation in Jordan Neely subway death trial published
The footage shows the defendant's initial statement to police, in which he claims that he acted in defense of other subway riders.
Penny leaves a New York police station after turning himself in.
Video footage of Daniel Penny's first interrogation was released Wednesday during a pretrial hearing in the death of Jordan Neely. Penny is charged in connection with the death of the young African-American man, who boarded a New York City subway car unrestrained and threatened riders.
A year ago, Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran who had just begun studying architecture, restrained Neely on the New York subway. Neely had exhibited dangerous behavior, and Penny claimed that his intention was to keep Neely under control until law enforcement officers arrived.
However, Penny's restraint on the young man turned out to be fatal and he died shortly after the incident.
Penny turned himself in to the NYPD when they began an investigation into the incident and there is now a highly publicized trial surrounding the case, with some believing it to be a case of racist violence while others believe Penny was simply trying to protect other subway riders.
After his arrest, detectives Michael Medina and Brian McCarthy interviewed Penny. They read him his Miranda rights but did not tell him that Neely had died. This is only now becoming known as excerpts of the interview have been played at a pre-trial hearing.
Daniel Penny has spoken on separate occasions to the media since the incident. The video of his initial questioning contains the most candid comments he has made about the case that are publicly available.
Penny told investigators that he was on his way to the gym after class when Neely burst into his subway car. "A guy with no jacket came in and Penny said on the recordings. 'I'm going to kill everybody. I'm going to go to jail forever. I don't care," he said. He took off his headphones. He then grabbed Neely from behind and put him in a headlock, "I grabbed him from behind."
Media trial against Penny
However, these measures haven't made much of a difference and people are now blaming Daniel Penny as a scapegoat. Since the trial against the young veteran began, several protests have been organized in New York.
These protests, which have consistently drawn about fifty people in front of the Centre Street Courthouse, are organized by groups aligned with movements like Black Lives Matters.
According to the New York Post, some of the witnesses in the trial have said that they feel pressured by these protests, which insist that the events were ratially motivated.
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