Filed under: News, Race and Civil Rights
Last October, Pace University junior Danroy Henry (pictured above) was gunned down by police in Thornwood, N.Y.
The case quickly gained the nation's attention, because the details of the shooting didn't match up with the details of Henry's life as an "exemplary student" with no criminal record.
Now the police officer responsible for killing Henry has been named "Officer of the Year" for his "dignity and professionalism" since the shooting.
And his family is taking the news as a slap in the face.
Angella Henry, Danroy's mother (pictured below at podium with husband at right) is outraged:
"It speaks to the arrogance that we have experienced since Oct. 17, 2010. It just shows their inhumanity and their arrogance."
When a fight broke out outside of the bar, Finnegan's owners decided to close down the venue, causing more than 50 attendants to rush out of the establishment.
Area police were immediately called to contain the situation. When they arrived, a cop was said to tap on the window and ask Henry to move his Nissan, which was allegedly parked in a No Stopping zone.
Officers say that was when Henry hit two policemen with his car and then policemen Aaron Hess and Ronald Beckley retaliated with gunfire, shooting Henry and injuring his passenger, Brandon Cox.
But witnesses tell a different story.
They say that officers never asked Henry to move his vehicle and there was no clear reason why Hess, whose shots ultimately killed Henry, used deadly force.
In February, a grand jury decided Hess did not commit a crime, clearing him of indictment, for shooting and killing Henry, also affectionately called "D.J."
In response, Henry's father, Danroy Henry Sr. (pictured) said:
"We will not stop until Mr. Hess is held accountable for the killing of our beloved D.J."
Henry's parents have filed a $120 million lawsuit against the Pleasantville Police Department and are awaiting a federal investigation in to their son's case.
Meanwhile, Hess was awarded this distinction by the Police Benevolent Association of the Pleasantville Police Department for being some sort of hero, rather than an officer who just took someone's life.
Whether Hess was right to pull the trigger or not (and it's likely he wasn't), there is no dispute that he took someone's child, friend and companion.
I really feel it for the Henry family.
In spite of all the negativity and press out there about raising black boys, they raised a bright young man who was admired and praised by his peers.
Twenty long years cultivating, nurturing and educating your most-prized possession -- only to have his life snuffed out because of some haphazard brawl.
What a crying shame.
Something should also be said about how numb our society and the criminal justice system is to black males and murder. No one expects a white male in his prime to be erroneously cut down by a random bullet, particularly a policeman's.
No one would then imagine that the policeman who actually was responsible for that white kid's death, would then be honored for his "dignity and professionalism."
As a matter of fact, when was the last time you even heard of a young white male -- barely out of his teens -- being shot to death by a cop?
The public should protest Hess' distinction and demand that it be rescinded. I pray Henry receives justice with the federal investigation, but even if he and his family are denied that, at least give him his respect.
Amadou Diallo, Patrick Dorismund, Sean Bell, Eleanor Bumpers and all of our people who have been wrongly murdered by police deserve that.
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