Thomas Kenniff, the attorney representing Daniel Penny, the former Marine charged with second-degree manslaughter after attempting to restrain a man on the New York City subway, told Newsmax on Monday that the deployment of National Guard troops to train stations may be a positive sign, but it's not "a fix-all."
New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul last week ordered hundreds of National Guard troops to assist law enforcement at train stations across New York City, a move that has drawn criticism from some of the city's leading police officers.
Kenniff said on "National Report" that this move shows that political leaders in New York are recognizing "just how bad the situation is, and has been in the New York City subways."
However, he later added, "I certainly don't think that anyone thinks it's the only answer" to the problem.
"It's a good thing," he said. "Is it a fix-all? No."
He pointed to the situation involving his client, noting that "Ultimately, it was determined that [Jordan] Neely did not have a weapon. Secondly … Neely didn't begin to act until those subway doors closed and the train started moving between stations."
Kenniff said "it's just not realistic" to expect "a Guardsman, state trooper, or New York City police officer on every subway car on every subway train throughout New York City."
He added, "So I don't think that this fixes everything, but … something is better than what we had been doing, which seemed to be not much."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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