ALBANY, N.Y. (Court TV) — From the courthouse's soggy lawn to New York's City Hall, reaction to the acquittal of four NYPD officers was swift and varied.

On the steps of the courthouse, Amadou Diallo's family vowed tearfully to continue their fight for justice while 150 miles away in New York City, the mayor and police chief held a press briefing to say justice had been done.

"Thank God for America and thank God for our court system," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told reporters.

Amadou Diallo's father, Saikou, described the verdict as "a murder for all the community."

"This is not the end, this is the beginning," Sharpton said, referring to a Justice Department investigation into civil rights violations by the officers. "We will not rest until we get justice."

Sharpton and Diallo's mother, Kaditou, urged those who disagreed with the verdict to do so non-violently.

"We do not want to tarnish his name with violence — let not one brick be thrown," Sharpton said. "The violence will not come from us."

Mrs. Diallo added, "We want to achieve justice in peace."

The jury — four black women, one white woman and seven white men — deliberated for 23 hours over three days before acquitting Sean Carroll, 37; Edward McMellon, 27; Kenneth Boss, 28; and Richard Murphy, 27.

They shot and killed Diallo, 22, in the vestibule of his Bronx apartment building on Feb. 4, 1999.

The acquittal, said Amadou's father, Saikou, "is a murder for all the community."

"I ask for your calm and prayers...to achieve justice in peace," said Kadiatou Diallo after the verdict was announced.

The mayor acknowledged the tragic death of Diallo, an "innocent and decent" man, and offered his family sympathy and support. However, he emphasized the "nightmare" the acquitted officers and their families had also experienced. He said many New Yorkers had participated in a "gross violation" of the officers' rights by assuming they were guilty without hearing the facts.

"An awful lot of people did things that treated these police officers as if they had no rights, were not citizens, tried to get this case resolved in the streets. A unanimous court had to rebuke that and change it and turn it in a different direction," he said.

"I hope what we will learn from this is that the place to resolve complex criminal cases is the courts, not in the streets," Giuliani said.

The muted atmosphere of city hall stood in stark contrast to the noisy reaction outside the Albany courthouse. There, about 40 demonstrators taunted police by raising their hands, waving their wallets and yelling, "Don't shoot!" They chanted, "No justice, no peace" and counted aloud the 41 shots fired at Diallo.

"We're outraged and very angry at the verdict, but we're not surprised," said Vickie Green of the Capital Region Justice for Diallo Committee.

A handful of police supporters cheered outside the court as each verdict was read, but they were often drowned out by the Diallo supporters who shouted, "Shame!" and "They say justified, we say homicide."

Bronx Police Officer Anthony Esposito said he traveled to Albany for the trial to support the officers.

"These police officers had no support," he said. "I wanted to be there, and I'm glad to see that they had their fair day in court."

"I hope what we will learn from this is that the place to resolve complex criminal cases is the courts, not in the streets," Mayor Rudolf Giuliani said.

The Diallo shooting, combined with the 1997 torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima in a police station bathroom, led to criticism that police were being excessive in cracking down on crime under the administration of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

After Diallo was killed, protesters gathered almost daily in acts of civil disobedience outside New York police headquarters. A judge eventually dismissed charges against the 1,166 people who were arrested, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, actors Susan Sarandon and Ossie Davis, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, and former Mayor David Dinkins.

After the verdict, Dinkins told Court TV, "Juries are not infallible ... I think it's a very poor decision."

In Washington, Justice Department spokesman Myron Marlin said the agency had been monitoring the trial and will review whether to bring federal civil rights charges against the officers. The Diallo family met last year with department officials on the matter. Stephen Worth, attorney for Carroll said the lawyers for the defendants had also requested an audience with federal officials.

Representatives for the Diallo family said they were in the process of preparing a civil suit against the city.