Settling with DJ Henry's Family, Town Issues Limited Apology

MOUNT PLEASANT, NY — The town of Mount Pleasant has reached a settlement with the family of D.J. Henry, the Pace University student killed during a police action outside a Thornwood bar, according to Boston25News.

The settlement includes a donation to the D.J. Henry Dream Fund, a charity set up by D.J. Henry's parents, Danroy and Angella of Easton, Massachusetts, to help children and young adults enjoy healthy lifestyles through athletics, wellness and arts programs.

The settlement also came with an apology of sorts, the media outlet reported, as town officials admitted that "statements made by its officials in the hours after the incident caused additional pain to the Henry family."

Henry was killed in the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2010. Henry, who had played earlier for Pace University’s football team that Homecoming Day, was shot by an off-duty Pleasantville policeman, Aaron Hess, who saw a fracas outside a bar as he was passing by and stayed as Mount Pleasant officers responded.

Henry, 20, was a Pace University student and varsity football player. The students were all at Finnegan's after the game.

Henry was parked in a fire lane when a police officer knocked on the driver’s-side window, with friends in the car. He moved away believing the officer was instructing him to.

Henry was shot through his windshield. The officer who shot him was the off-duty cop who had hung around. Hess said Henry was driving toward him, hit him, and wouldn’t stop.

Hess ended up on the hood, and some witnesses said he jumped on it, disputing police accounts.

Another officer, Ronald Beckley of the Mount Pleasant police force, also fired. Much later, Beckley said in a deposition that he was firing at the person on the hood, thinking it was Henry, not Hess under attack. Michael Sussman, the lawyer for Henry's family, said that Beckley told Chief Louis Alagno and then-Lt. Brian Fanelli but they instead told the press that "officers" had shot at Henry for being aggressive.

Witnesses at the scene begged police and emergency responders to treat Henry as he lay bleeding out — but Hess said he had suffered a leg injury and he was treated first.

Federal and state authorities investigated the case but decided not to pursue charges against Hess. The Pleasantville Police Benevolent Association later named Hess its Officer of the Year. He later retired on a disability connected to the injury from the accident.

Henry's family settled with the village of Pleasantville in 2016 for $6 million. This new settlement ends the suit against the town of Mount Pleasant and members of its police department "who failed to respond to the grievous gunshot wounds inflicted by Mr. Hess upon their son."

The case drew new attention after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Missouri and subsequent shootings of black men and boys by police officers.

SEE ALSO:

• DJ Henry's Family Awarded $6M Over Police Shooting - Patch
• DJ Henry Remembered at Pace 5 Years After Shooting
• No Federal Charges in Cop's Fatal Shooting of DJ Henry
• Kanye West/Jay-Z Commemorate DJ Henry in Rap
• DJ Henry: Parents, Lawyer Claim Cover Up by Authorities
• For the Family of DJ Henry, Ferguson and New York Area
• Conflicting Accounts of DJ Henry Shooting Continue to Emerge
• Report: DJ Henry's Parents React to Fanelli Arrest