Jordan Neely’s family is moving forward with a civil lawsuit against Daniel Penny after the Marine veteran was found not guilty by a jury on Monday.

A jury in Manhattan acquitted the 26-year-old man of involuntary manslaughter after dismissing the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter because the jury was divided on the matter.

Neely’s family rejected the jury’s decision out of court and his father called for action against a “rigged” system.

“I just want to say I miss my son. My son didn’t have to go through that. I didn’t have to go through that either. It really, really hurts,” Andre Zachary said.

Last week, Zachary filed a lawsuit accusing Penny of negligence, assault and battery that resulted in the death of his unarmed 30-year-old son on a subway on May 1, 2023.

Zachary is seeking a judgment awarding damages “in an amount that exceeds the jurisdictional limits of any lower court that would otherwise have jurisdiction,” the lawsuit says.

Outside court Monday, Neely’s attorney said the civil case was moving forward.

“I promised this family that we would do justice to them and we will continue to do so. We will move forward with our lawsuit,” Dante Mills said. “The district attorney did a good job, but the jury failed us in this case.”

Penny’s attorney, Steven Raiser, dismissed the lawsuit last week 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 attempted attack on Danny while he is under such enormous stress.”

The case exacerbated many American fault lines, including race, politics, crime, urban life, mental illness and homelessness. Neely was black. Penny is white.

Dueling demonstrations sometimes occurred outside the courthouse, and senior Republican politicians portrayed Penny as a hero, while prominent Democrats attended Neely’s funeral.

The verdict capped a trial that took a turbulent turn last Friday when jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict on the involuntary manslaughter charge. The judge then dismissed the lawsuit at prosecutors’ request – a rare request that prosecutors make in the middle of a trial.

“What do we do now, guys? What happens to us now? I’ve had enough of it. The system is rigged,” Zachary said.