Grand Jury Clears Officers in Death of Pace Student

[JJB531 652]

WHITE PLAINS — A Westchester County grand jury has cleared two police officers of criminal responsibility in the shooting death of Pace University football player Danroy “D.J.” Henry, wrapping up an official investigation into the killing outside a Thornwood bar

Lohud

[Goose 188]

Glad to hear that they were cleared. Sadly, it sounds like the family is going for blood in the civil circuit...

[PFDRes47cue 653]

Lohud

This is great news and IMHO the right decision by the Grand Jury. Officer Hess is a great person and a great Police Officer. I have known him for several years now. It will be interesting to hear people responses to the Grand Jury's decision. The next couple of days will be filled with press releases...

[helicopper 1,050]

The Henry family's statement is interesting reading - attached.

Also attached is the DA's press release.

BH170439214.pdf

BH170438214.pdf

[EXDC203 38]

Im glad the officers were cleared, no officer wants to take a life! I feel for the parents who had to bury a child. The bottom line now is what happens next...civil lawsuits.....Al Sharpton circus........its going to be a long bumpy road!

[PFDRes47cue 653]

The Henry family's statement is interesting reading - attached.

Also attached is the DA's press release.

They should have fixed spelling...rookie mistake!

I like how it says "We will not stop until Mr Hess is held accountable for killing our beloved DJ." Shut up...your beloved DJ tried to use his car as a weapon and kill or injury our beloved cops (and good friends)!

I understand that this is a hard time for the family and friends of DJ and his death is a tragedy since he is just a kid, but the family and friends of DJ need to move on...cops eliminate deadly force with deadly force. They will not just stand around while their lives or their fellow Officers lives are at risk.

Instead of putting all blame on the cops, blame DJ and his terrible decision to drink and drive while not intoxicate but s***faced.

Smart people make stupid decisions, but so do stupid people. From what I heard about DJ's grades...he is not the genius, his friends and family made him out to be.

It is a shame that this all happened and that DJ's family lost a son, but now it is time to continue on with this nightmare journey and get to the end of it.

RIP DJ...thankfully because you are doing so, our Police Officers are not.

Edited February 14, 2011 by PFDRes47cue

[grumpyff 1,159]

Typical money grubbing lawyer BUll#%$. Hopefully the officers involved can breath easier tonight.

[engine968 8]

The fact that the young man's blood alcohol level (as reported by the media) was .13 speaks for itself. He should not have been at the wheel of a car, and a tragedy of one kind or another was bound to happen. This should serve as a wake-up call, not a condemnation of the police who had to deal as best they could with an instantly unfolding situation.

Edited February 14, 2011 by engine968

[Remember585 815]

The civil suit BS is no surprise. Everyone wants "ju$tice."

[efdcapt115 1,511]

This should serve as a wake-up call,

Yes this should serve as a wake up call....to ALL students/ younger people out there who choose to drink and drive, drive and text, disobey a police officer ESPECIALLY during a chaotic emergency, WAKE UP. Long past time to quell reckless behavior. Too many young people DIE behind the wheel because of immature, panicky, or judgement impaired decisions. This one is particularly tragic because a police officer will have to carry the weight of a decision NO police officer should ever have to make.

I know a retired Albany cop who comes down here. Years ago he had to use deadly force on the job. He still carries it.

Another part of the "gift" of his pension...

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Glad justice prevailed...or better said, thank god thats over.

Edited February 15, 2011 by bvfdjc316

[COMMANDCHIEF 4]

Unfortunatly it's not over. You can mark my workds on that one. I'm sure the Federal Government will be rolling in here soon enough with their "civil rights violations". It's the Feds way of being able to interfear in the due legal process of the individual states when things don't do quite the way the Federal Gov. wants it to go. Best of luck to the Officers. This has not been an easy time for ANY of the parties involved. I just hope this isn't going to interfear with the judgement of other Officers if n the need for deadly physical force arises. Stay safe.

[FFLieu 70]

Unfortunatly it's not over. You can mark my workds on that one. I'm sure the Federal Government will be rolling in here soon enough with their "civil rights violations". It's the Feds way of being able to interfear in the due legal process of the individual states when things don't do quite the way the Federal Gov. wants it to go. Best of luck to the Officers. This has not been an easy time for ANY of the parties involved. I just hope this isn't going to interfear with the judgement of other Officers if n the need for deadly physical force arises. Stay safe.

Any civil rights case that may or may not come out of this will be defeated by the longstanding holding of the court case of Tennessee v. Garner.

[INIT915 1,119]

Any civil rights case that may or may not come out of this will be defeated by the longstanding holding of the court case of Tennessee v. Garner.

Actually, it's not that simplistic.

[FFLieu 70]

Nothing is ever that simplistic, but the facts of the cases are similar, so in the end, I'm sure that there would/could be a similar ruling.

[Just a guy 493]

I am glad the Grand Jury Reached this decision, truth be told, this was the only decision to come to. These cops did NOTHING WRONG, dj henry did EVERYTHING WRONG... he drank underage, drove drunk and tried to kill a cop... THIS WAS ALL HIS FAULT. His parents are making fools of themselves with their statements and forget michael sussman, calling him an ambulance chaser is too good for him, that would be an insult to ambulance chasers.

My prediction is that the feds will leave this one alone... the process has been followed, the officers have been cleared.. end of story

[RZ502 12]

God Bless all who are involved in this. I am very happy that the Grand Jury chose not charge those officers with any wrong doing. I do not know any of these Officers personally, but like it has been said cops will only use deadly force when deadly force is used against them.... Furthermore, just for the record, this young man that died was ***20*** years old, making any BAC over the legal limit of 0. He was drunk, under age and opperating a vehicle which attempted to kill a police officer... enough said

[TCD0415 26]

Overall an unfortunate situation. My hats off to all the LEO's out there. You guys are really in a "No Win" situation anytime you resort to deadly force. Even if it is 100% justified, some douche-bag will decide that there is a money angle to it and drag a very unfortunate situation out even further. Good / Bad or Indifferent, there are always the mental scars that the officers will, carry for the remainder of not just their career, but their life. God bless you guys. I don't think you get enough credit.

[ptwatson 82]

Yes this should serve as a wake up call....to ALL students/ younger people out there who choose to drink and drive, drive and text, disobey a police officer ESPECIALLY during a chaotic emergency, WAKE UP. Long past time to quell reckless behavior. Too many young people DIE behind the wheel because of immature, panicky, or judgement impaired decisions. This one is particularly tragic because a police officer will have to carry the weight of a decision NO police officer should ever have to make.

I know a retired Albany cop who comes down here. Years ago he had to use deadly force on the job. He still carries it.

Another part of the "gift" of his pension...

SO true Capt. Being in the classroom I can tell you first hand that the youth of America feel that there are NO consequenses to their actions. If the dear darlings get into trouble its the parents to the rescue. They put all kinds of pressure on administration who always buckles and the kid then gets away with it. In my day if I got in trouble I was more afraid of going home then going to the principals office. Unfortunatly, the youth of America are not held accountable for their actions. Always the other guys falt. It's a sad road they are going down!

[GAW6 66]

.....Al Sharpton circus........

Actually, Sharpton came up to Pace when it first happened. He came quietly and left quietly, which speaks volumes!

[ajsbear 11]

First of the lawsuit's I understand have already been served. Probably more to come. I guess being almost twice the legal limit on alcohol and driving with a cop as a hood ornament is OK.

[JohnnyOV 2]

Looks like the Feds will be reviewing the evidence presented to the courts.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20110215/NEWS02/102150329/Feds-to-review-grand-jury-findings-in-Pace-player-s-death

[PFDRes47cue 653]

Looks like the Feds will be reviewing the evidence presented to the courts.

http://www.lohud.com...-player-s-death

Anyone surprised???

[Goose 188]

I think thats somewhat routine in police related shootings, no?

[EXDC203 38]

Gaw6, I stand corrected, I didnt know he came & went.

[GAW6 66]

Gaw6, I stand corrected, I didnt know he came & went.

No problem!! Not too many people knew he had come up. That's why I was pointing it out - if "Reverend Al" is quiet, there must be a reason!!!

[PFDRes47cue 653]

No problem!! Not too many people knew he had come up. That's why I was pointing it out - if "Reverend Al" is quiet, there must be a reason!!!

Perhaps he realized that the "amazing" DJ Henry screwed up big time. Or perhaps he realized that if he were a Police Officer and his life was being threatened, he would also use deadly force to defend himself. I personally would come and go quietly if I knew it was not worth defending and a case worth fighting for. But by making the trip he at least shows interest which is good for his image and public relations.

[ny10570 745]

Sharpton came and went because the family didn't want this blown up as a race issue. That's the only song he knows, so when he can't run with it he has nothing else to say.

If you petition the fed to review anything that could potentially fall under their purview they review the local authority's evidence and decide whether or not further investigation is warranted.

Its exceedingly rare to see a convicted perp or dead anybody where the family is reluctant to believe the ugly truth. Its one of the perks of family, unwavering support and belief in you above all else. The grandstanding POS lawyer is a whole other problem. He's gone well above defense of his client and continues to inflame the situation for personal gains.

Hopefully the rest of this mess concludes quickly and the officers can go back to doing the job they've done so well.

[BFD1054 1,552]

Glad to hear that the Officers have been cleared. As others have said, all the BS is probably far from over. The officers involved that night were faced with a very ugly situation and a clear threat on their lives. In miliseconds, they had to make a decision that no LEO ever wants to make in their career. DJ Henry made poor choices that night that unfortunatley led to his death. The officers were doing their job that they are sworn to do and DJ Henrys actions caused the Officers re-actions. Hats off to ALL LEO's who keep us safe on a daily basis. I can only hope that PO's Hess and Beckley can get on with their lives and careers, knowing that they had no other option that night.

The Daily News covered the Grand Jury findings yesterday. The headline read something along the lines of "Officers Skate Charges in PACE Shooting...." I may not have it ver-batum, but pretty close. The fact that the author of the article chose to use the word "skate" made me absolutely sick.

[okcomputer 12]

Sharpton came and went because the family didn't want this blown up as a race issue. That's the only song he knows, so when he can't run with it he has nothing else to say.

I don't want to instigate anything or come off as being rude, but I am pretty sure from day one that The Henry Family, the lawyers representing the Henry Family and the media have been implying that race was an issue, and the fault wasn't or possibly couldn't fall on DJ Henry.

Even in the civil suit race will be a factor, lets face it, if its not white leo's on white crime or black leo's on black or hispanic leo's on hispanic crime, its going to end up having a racial undertone. It is sad, and pathetic. I didn't vote for Obama but I will say that ever since he has been in office Al Sharpton has been pretty damn quiet which is very very nice. He can no longer say that the white man is keeping the minority man down.

For all we know maybe he was going to a job interview at PACE.