Celebrities like Rihanna, Jay-Z, Pharrell and more have signed an open letter to the US Department of Justice, urging to reopen the case of Danroy ‘DJ’ Henry. Puza Snigdha reports.
The celebrities are urging for the case of twenty-year-old Henry, who was shot and killed by a NY police officer Aaron Hess on 17th October of 2010, to be reopened following the Black Lives Matter protests which are continuing to hold instances of injustice like this to account.
The letter has been signed by 10 celebrities and is addressed to William Barr, the Attorney General, top lawyer, in the US.
“As the Department knows, this agonising case remains an unhealed wound for the Henry family and the people of New York…More concerning, even a cursory review of the fact pattern of what occurred distills more questions than answers,” the letter reads.
Danroy ‘DJ’ Henry was a student of Pace University and lived in Easton. He was tragically shot dead in Pleasantville, New York, at night by a white police officer, while he was driving away from the restaurant. According to the police, the officer fired shots from his car because he was feared for his own life.
However, according to Henry’s friend, Brandon, they were celebrating at a local bar when a fight broke out, and CCTV footage shows them leaving the bar. together They were waiting for their other friends in the car when: “A police officer knocked on the window and gave the motion to move the car forward, so that’s what they did.” As Henry pulled the car, Officer Aaron Hess shot the car.
Now, celebrities have launched a petition for the case to be reopened and re-examined as it shows another example of a Black life being tragically taken without any cause, and those responsible have so far faced no real repercussions.
