A legal defense fund set up for a former marine charged with the chokehold death of a homeless man on the subway has reached $1.9 million.
Daniel Penny was arraigned on Friday on a second-degree manslaughter charge more than a week after the death of Jordan Neely. Witnesses say Neely was acting erratically and threatening passengers when Penny put him in a chokehold to subdue him. Neely lost consciousness and later died.
For more than a week, demonstrations continued across the city with protesters calling for Penny to be criminally charged. Advocates for Penny say he was protecting himself and other subway riders. Critics say there was no need for Penny to keep the chokehold in place for more than 10 minutes.
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