A subway commuter who helped an ex-Marine restrain an agitated man aboard a Manhattan subway last year testified that he tried to convince the veteran to loosen his grip around the man’s neck.

A man who aided Daniel Penny while he restrained Jordan Neely in a lethal chokehold aboard a subway car in May 2023 recalled telling the former U.S. Marine he could safely release his grip from Neely’s neck in trial testimony on Tuesday.

A city straphanger who jumped in to try to help Daniel Penny restrain Jordan Neely told jurors Tuesday that the troubled homeless man looked like he was trying to “escape” the Marine veteran’s chokehold.