Daniel Penny trial begins in New York for chokehold subway death of Jordan Neely

He had dozens of previous arrests on charges such as evading fares, theft and assaults on three women.

Family members say he had mental health issues that began more than 15 years earlier, when his mother was strangled to death by her boyfriend.

Mr Penny, a Long Island native who served in the Marines, wrote on social media that he did not intend to kill Mr Neely.

“I was scared for myself but I looked around there were women and children, he was yelling in their faces saying these threats. I just couldn’t sit still,” he wrote.

There has been a growing awareness of the danger of chokeholds after the 2014 death of Eric Garner, an unarmed man from New York City who police restrained by the neck. Afterwards, the state banned police from using chokeholds during arrests. It then went further to include sitting, standing or kneeling on a person’s back or diaphragm following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in 2020.

Jury selection, the first step in the trial, is expected to start on Monday.