Following the troubled homeless man’s death, Neely’s family have pushed for Penny to face murder charges.

Neely, who was homeless at the time of his death, had an extensive documented history of mental health issues. He had previously been arrested for violent incidents on the subway, though it is unknown if any of those arrests led to convictions.

Over the weekend, in a video statement, Penny said he was not trying to kill Neely when he grabbed him, but could also not allow himself to remain passive while Neely threatened fellow passengers.

‘There’s a common misconception that Marines don’t get scared. We’re actually taught one of our core values is courage, and courage is not the absence of fear but how you handle fear,’ he said in a video released on Sunday.

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

Penny gave a detailed account of what happened on the subway car. He said: ‘The man (Neely) stumbled on, he appeared to be on drugs, the doors closed, and he ripped his jacket off and threw it down at the people sitting next to me at my left.’

He said he took his headphones out from listening to music as he heard Neely yelling in what he deemed a ‘scary situation.’

‘The three main threats that he repeated over and over again were I’m going to kill you, I’m prepared to go to jail for life and I’m willing to die,’ Penny said.

Penny further described the encounter, saying: ‘You can see in the video there’s a clear rise and fall of his chest, indicating that he’s breathing. I’m trying to restrain him from being able to carry out the threats.’

The former Marine also discredited claims his behavior was racist, saying: ‘Some people say that this was about race, which is absolutely ridiculous.
‘I didn’t see a black man threatening passengers. I saw a man threatening passengers, a lot of whom were people of color.

‘A man who restrained Mr. Neely was a person of color.

‘And then a few days after the incident, I read in the papers that a woman of color came out and called me a hero.’

Penny, a Long Island native, thanked those who are supporting him and have donated to his legal fund.

‘I was working two jobs as a student. My family doesn’t come from money so I’m incredibly thankful for this fund and all the people who have supported me,’ he said.

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