(AllHipHop News) According to multiple reports, a collective of celebrities have joined together to demand justice for Danroy “DJ” Henry. The African-American Pace University student was fatally shot by a Caucasian police officer in Mount Pleasant, New York in 2010.
Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, Pharrell Williams, Charlize Theron, Taraji P. Henson, Odell Beckham Jr., Michael K. Williams, Kerry Washington, Mary J. Blige, and Gabrielle Union were the signatories of a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice. They are calling on United States Attorney General William Barr to reopen the case.
On October 18, 2010, police were called to Finnegan’s Grill after customers at the establishment allegedly got into a fight. There are now a lot of discrepancies coming from witnesses at the scene about how the 20-year-old ended up dead because he was parked in a fire lane in front of the restaurant.
Apparently, a police officer knocked on Henry’s car window, and as he pulled the vehicle forward, police began yelling at him to stop. Pleasantville Officer Aaron Hess reportedly stepped in front of the car before getting on the hood. He then fired several shots through the windshield. DJ died while handcuffed on the pavement.
Hess claimed he was propelled onto the hood of the car as Henry attempted to drive towards him. However, during a deposition for the civil suit filed by the Henry family against Pleasantville and Hess, Mount Pleasant Officer Ronald Beckley stated that Hess was “mounting” the vehicle.
Beckley also admitted to shooting at Hess because he viewed him as the “aggressor.” In 2015, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York investigated the case and determined that the “evidence did not support charges.”
DJ’s parents, Angella and Danroy Henry Sr., reached a $6 million settlement with Pleasantville in 2016. The family also settled a civil lawsuit that included an apology and a $250,000 donation to the DJ Henry Dream Fund youth-centered nonprofit organization. Plus, over 45,000 people have signed a Change.org petition that calls for Aaron Hess to be charged with the murder of DJ Henry.