The witness said that he looked up from his phone and saw Daniel Penny struggling with Jorden Neely on the floor of the train and heard other bystanders ask those around them to call the police.

The man seen on video helping Daniel Penny restrain Jordan Neely on board the subway last year took the stand Tuesday on day five of witness testimony in Penny's trial.Penny has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Neely's chokehold death.

Two subway passengers testified that they believed Jordan Neely would have turned violent, perhaps deadly, when he boarded the F train and started shouting threats.

Eric Gonzalez, who helped Daniel Penny pin Mr. Neely to the floor of a subway car, also said he had lied when he told investigators Mr. Neely had hit him.

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.