Daniel Penny found not guilty in chokehold death of Jordan Neely in NYC

• Penny maintained he was trying to hold Neely, who had a history of mental illness, until police arrived.
• The verdict came after the judge presiding over the case dismissed a more serious charge of second-degree manslaughter on Friday after the jurors could not reach an agreement.

Zoom in: Neely's father, Andre Zachery, was removed from the courtroom for yelling out in response to the jury finding Penny not guilty of the lesser charge, according to multiple reports.

• Zachery told reporters outside court he missed his son.
• "My son didn't have to go through this. I didn't have to go through this either. It hurts. It really, really hurts," he said. "I had enough of this, the system is rigged."

What they're saying: "We couldn't be more pleased that a jury of Danny's peers acquitted him of any wrongdoing," said Penny's attorneys, Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff, in a joint media statement.

• "And now New Yorkers can take some comfort in knowing that we can continue to stand up for one another without sacrificing our rights or our freedoms."

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he respected the jury's decision.

• "The jury carefully deliberated for four days," Bragg said in a statement. "Their lengthy deliberation — and the totality of the facts and the evidence — underscored why this case was put in front of a jury of Mr. Penny's peers."

Zoom out: Bragg noted that during the trial "talented career prosecutors and their family members were besieged with hate and threats — on social media, by phone and over email."