Federal Judge Rules Henry Documents Released
Documents related to the October 2010 shooting of Pace University student Danroy Henry were ordered released by a federal judge in White Plains last week.
The documents, which were previously deemed confidential, were released on the website of Michael Sussman, the attorney for the Henry family, on Monday.
The documents contain statements of the passengers in Henry’s vehicle, police personnel that were involved in the shooting and the statements of witnesses. There are no statements from Pleasantville Police Officer Aaron Hess, who fired the fatal shot.
Sussman said last week that the documents reveal statements from witnesses claiming that Hess had his gun drawn prior to the vehicle striking him and that Henry received no medical attention. Witnesses also claimed that police turned them away from aiding Henry at gunpoint, Sussman said.
“This is an issue regarding deadly force training,” he said. “It is strongly against protocol to fire at a motor vehicle. We also have communications of Officer Hess reporting that he was okay after the shooting.”
Henry, a 20-year-old Pace University student, was shot and killed by police outside of the now-closed Finnegan’s at the Thornwood Town Center on Oct. 17, 2010, after striking two police officers with his car. He had been asked to move his car because he was parked in a fire lane.
It was determined that Hess fired the fatal shot, although a Mount Pleasant police officer also fired shots. Hess was cleared by a Westchester County grand jury last year.
After the shooting, the Henry family filed a lawsuit against the Town of Mount Pleasant, the Village of Pleasantville and the police officers involved in the shooting. Mount Pleasant, which investigated the shooting, developed the documents that were released.
Sussman said he believes the public has a right to see these documents and draw their own conclusions as the case is being tried in federal court.
“I’m not interested in arguing the case publicly,” Sussman said. “The Henrys were pleased with the ruling. They want the public to have access to these documents and be able to see whatever they want to see.”
The lawsuits are currently in the discovery phase.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.