Pathologist disputes finding that Marine veteran's chokehold caused subway rider's death
A forensic pathologist disputes a New York City medical examiner's determination that former Marine Daniel Penny killed another man by placing him in a chokehold on a subway train last year
NEW YORK (AP) — For roughly six minutes, Jordan Neely was pinned to a subway floor in a chokehold that ended with him lying still. But that's not what killed him, a forensic pathologist testified Thursday in defense of the military-trained commuter charged with killing Neely.
Dr. Satish Chundru disputed a New York City medical examiner's determination that Daniel Penny’s chokehold killed Neely, who was behaving erratically on a subway the two men were riding. Penny's defense says that he acted to protect frightened passengers and was trying only to restrain Neely, not to kill him.
The white Marine veteran's reaction to Neely, who was Black, homeless and mentally ill, has become a flashpoint in national divides over race, urban life and the boundary between self-defense and vigilantism.
Penny's lawyers have argued throughout the trial that his pressure on Neely's neck wasn't sufficient and consistent enough to be lethal. The attorneys brought Chundru to the witness stand to shed light on their argument.
