The father of the victim at the center of the fatal New York City subway chokehold trial has sued the defendant as a Manhattan jury continued to deliberate the case Thursday.
Jordan Neely ’s father, Andre Zachary, filed the suit Wednesday against Marine veteran Daniel Penny in New York Supreme Court.
He accuses the Long Island native of negligence, assault and battery, which led to the death of his unarmed, 30-year-old son on May 1, 2023, on an underground train.
The then-24-year-old Penny placed Neely in a chokehold for about six minutes after Neely, who was homeless, began shouting and acting erratically on the crowded train.
Zachary is seeking a judgment awarding damages “in a sum which exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower Courts which would otherwise have jurisdiction,” according to the lawsuit.
Penny’s lawyer Steven Raiser dismissed the suit as a distraction.
Lawyers for Zachary didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. But Christopher Neely, Jordan’s uncle, repeated the family’s position that Neely didn’t deserve to die over his tirade.
“What gave Daniel Penny the right to choke Jordan nearly for six minutes?” he said outside the courthouse. “He had an option to go to another car. He had the option to say something and not do nothing.”
The third day of deliberations ended Thursday without a verdict.
The jury, which resumes its closed-door discussions Friday, heard a readout of a city medical examiner’s testimony during the monthlong trial.
They also asked the judge to re-read the criminal definitions of recklessness and negligence in open court and be provided with written copies of the statutes.
