Disturbance ends in shooting of football player
Police say player’s car hit officer in incident
THORNWOOD, N.Y. – A college football player parked in a fire lane outside a bar sped away from police rapping on his car window, hit an officer who clung to the hood as the sedan barreled toward a colleague, and was killed by a burst of police gunfire that pierced his windshield, authorities said.
Danroy “D.J.” Henry, 20, had just played for Pace University in front of screaming fans during its homecoming game against Stonehill College of Easton, Mass. – the junior defensive player’s hometown. Hours later, hysterical students screamed on the sidewalk around his dying, handcuffed body.
The New York State Police joined Monday in an investigation of the events involving three local police officers early Sunday, which a chief of one of the departments called “horrendous.” The victim’s family and friends were skeptical of the account of events police gave.
Brandon Cox, a passenger in Henry’s car who was grazed by a police bullet, said he and the victim’s family “won’t rest until we get justice for D.J.” He called Henry his best friend.
“In my heart, what went on that night … it didn’t need to come to that,” Cox said at a news conference outside his family’s home in Easton. “Whether we were trying to drive away or not … there was no need for any of that to happen. I do feel that we were victimized in that my friend’s life was taken for no reason.”
A disturbance at Finnegan’s Grill, wedged between a pizza place and an Asian restaurant in a strip mall in the suburban Westchester County hamlet of Thornwood, spilled into the parking lot, and police from Pleasantville and Mount Pleasant were called.
Henry’s Nissan Altima was parked in a fire lane as officers arrived. When an officer knocked on his window, and with a passenger in his car, Henry stepped on the gas, Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno said.
“For no reason, the vehicle sped away,” Alagno said at a news conference. “I can’t describe to you why the driver did what he did.”
Pleasantville officer Aaron Hess tried to stop the car, was struck and “ended up on the hood,” Alagno said. Hess drew his pistol and fired into the vehicle, the chief said.
Mount Pleasant officer Ronald Beckley also fired at the car as it neared him in the fire lane, Alagno said. Another Mount Pleasant officer, Carl Castagna, was also struck; none of the three officers was seriously injured. A back-seat passenger in Henry’s car also was unhurt, Alagno said.
The Nissan, still in the fire lane, crashed into a patrol car and stopped. Officers then handcuffed Henry, but “on seeing his condition they uncuffed him” and treated him, including with a defibrillator, Alagno said.