NEW YORK CITY – The father of the victim at the center of the fatal New York City subway chokehold trial has sued the defendant as a Manhattan jury continues to deliberate the case on Thursday.

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Jordan Neely’s father, Andre Zachary, filed a lawsuit against Marine veteran Daniel Penny in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday.

He accuses the Long Island native of negligence, assault and battery that led to the death of his unarmed 30-year-old son on a subway on May 1, 2023.

Zachary is seeking a judgment that would award damages “in an amount that exceeds the jurisdictional limits of any lower court that would otherwise have jurisdiction,” the lawsuit says. Penny’s attorney, Steven Raiser, dismissed the lawsuit as a diversion.

“The timing is unfortunate as Danny awaits a jury verdict with potential consequences far greater than any civil lawsuit could threaten,” he said in a statement Thursday, adding that Penny had not yet been served with the lawsuit. “We will not be distracted by this attempt to attack Danny while he is under such tremendous stress.”

Current: The jury’s deliberations continue

The third day of deliberations began Thursday with the jury continuing to hear the reading of testimony from a city coroner during the month-long trial.

They then asked the judge to reread the criminal definitions of recklessness and negligence in open court and to obtain written copies of the statutes as they returned to their closed-door discussions.

The jury heard the testimony of Dr. Cynthia Harris on issuing a death certificate for Neely after conducting an autopsy and reviewing bystander video and examination results.

Penny’s defense largely focused on challenging the city coroner’s determination that the chokehold killed Neely.

A defense pathologist testified that Neely died as a result of using synthetic marijuana, also known as “K2,” along with schizophrenia, a genetic disorder and his fight with Penny.

On Wednesday, jurors asked to review police and bystander videos, including responding officers’ body camera videos and police video of Penny’s subsequent interview at the police station with detectives.

May 1, 2023: Daniel Penny puts Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold.

May 10, 2023: New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the death of Jordan Neely at the hands of another subway rider was “a tragedy that should never have happened” and vowed to do more to help people in mental health crises to help.

May 11, 2023: Penny turns herself in to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

May 20, 2023: Republican presidential candidates line up to support Penny.

June 15, 2023: A grand jury indicted Penny.

June 28, 2023: Penny pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter during his arraignment.

January 17, 2024: A judge declined to dismiss the case against Penny.

Oct 21, 2024: Jury selection begins.

November 1, 2024: The jury heard the opening statements of the trial.

Dec 2, 2024: The closing arguments begin.

Penny is charged with second-degree manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.

What happens if Penny is found guilty?

If the jury finds Penny guilty, he could face up to 15 years in prison. There is no minimum sentence.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has also come forward FOX 5 NY to report that there is also no mandatory prison sentence for Penny’s charge, but it is unclear how that might impact sentencing.

On May 1, 2023, Penny had left class and boarded an uptown F train in Manhattan to go to the gym. Neely was aboard the train and witnesses said he yelled that he needed food and something to drink before throwing his jacket to the ground and starting screaming. They differed in describing his movements and whether they were threatening.

Penny entered and approached Neely from behind. With the help of two other passengers, Penny pinned Neely to the ground and held him in a chokehold until Neely’s body went limp and he lost consciousness. The coroner’s office ruled the death a homicide caused by compression of the neck.

The train stopped at the Broadway-Lafayette Street station in Manhattan and allowed passengers to disembark, but Penny wouldn’t let go.

Both prosecutors and the defense agree that Penny had the right to intervene, but argue that Penny used too much force against an unarmed man.

What do prosecutors say?

Prosecutor Dafna Yoran told jurors at the start of Monday’s arraignment that Daniel Penny used too much force on Neely for too long, holding him in a chokehold for nearly six minutes. Prosecutors argued that he could have released Neely after passengers got off the train at the station once he no longer posed a threat to others.

What did the defense say?

Defense attorney Steven Raiser said Penny acted to protect subway riders from threatening behavior. They argued that Penny held Neely until police arrived so they could take him into custody.

They also claim that the chokehold did not kill Penny, but that schizophrenia, synthetic marijuana use and sickle cell anemia led to his death.

Who is Daniel Penny?

Daniel Penny is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from West Islip, Long Island. He served in the Marines for four years and was discharged in 2021.

At the time of Neely’s death, Penny was studying architecture.

Who was Jordan Neely?

Jordan Neely, 30, was once one of the city’s subway and street artists and was known for his Michael Jackson impersonations.

But after his mother was violently killed as a teenager, Neely was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia, was repeatedly hospitalized, struggled with substance abuse and had a criminal record that included assault convictions.

During the month-long trial, the jury heard testimony from subway passengers who witnessed Penny’s roughly six-minute arrest of Neely, as well as police officers who responded, pathologists, a psychiatric expert, a Marine Corps instructor who taught Penny chokehold techniques , and Penny’s relatives, friends and fellow Marines. Penny chose not to testify.

Jurors viewed videos captured by bystanders and police body cameras and saw Penny explain his actions to officers at the scene and later in the police department interview room.

PHILIP MARCELO contributed to this report from the Associated Press.