Crime & Safety
DJ Henry Remembered at Pace 5 Years After Shooting
Hard work, family and friends were the top values of the athlete killed by a police officer, people said.
On the fifth anniversary of Danroy Henry’s shooting by a police officer, family, faculty and students at Pace University gathered to remember him.
His parents, Dan and Angella Henry, came to the campus for the first time since DJ was shot in Thornwood Oct. 17, 2010.
The Henrys brought T-shirts with DJ’s picture and number 12 on them, school officials said.
The Black Student Union sold pins with his photo and donated the proceeds to the DJ Dream Fund, school officials said. The Dream Fund raises money to help underprivileged kids get involved in healthy, creative opportunities such as sports and arts programs. The Fund webpage says:
“where there is a motivated young person, lack of funding should not be a barrier to participation”
More than 60 people attended the event, which included a silent march from the center of campus to the student fitness center, which is the site of the DJ Henry Memorial Clock. The crowd released 12 balloons in honor of DJ’s football number.
Inside the fitness center, Assoc. V.P./Dean of Students Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo, Cornell Craig, Dir. Multicultural Affairs, several students and DJ Henry’s parents had an opportunity to speak.
The theme of the evening focused on fond memories of DJ and the positive influence and effect he had on those he encountered, attendees said.
Craig, Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said the event is larger than DJ’s physical presence. This event is about the spirit of selfless, appreciation, and positivity that DJ represented and that spirit can be carried forward, honored, and celebrated at Pace University long after individuals who personally knew DJ have left the Pleasantville campus.
Dean for Students Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo, who was a Pace staffer at the time of the incident, said:
It is great to look out and see so many faculty, staff and students who were here during the passing of DJ. But it is also great to see students here who did not know DJ and wanted to learn more about him and what he meant to the campus.
I did not know DJ personally but do remember his smile and always a hello when I walked pass him. But through the many conversations with those who knew DJ I grew to be more of a fan! To me he stood for values we should all stand for.
DJ lived true to his values and we should all strive to do the same. He valued family, friends, and hard work.
I had the honor to work with five of his closest friends and our former Director of Athletics to decide how we could best honor DJ and his family. We wanted a symbol on our campus that would remind of us DJ and we wanted the family’s blessing.
When we decided on a clock tower I have vivid memories of the “awe ha” moment that happened when we decided that we would only include the number 12 in the face of the clock. This was fitting since #12 was DJ’s number while playing football at Pace and he loved football, sports and giving back to others through the love of sports.
Throughout the hardship of this night five years ago, DJ’s parents have been partners in our search to rightfully remember DJ. I am happy that DJ’s family Dan, Sr., Angella, Amber and Kyle are with us tonight. They are an inspiration to me on how they are remembering DJ and how is life is living on through the DJ Dream Fund.
Henry, who had played earlier for Pace University’s football team that Homecoming Day, was shot by an off-duty Pleasantville policeman who saw a fracas outside a bar as he was passing by and stayed as Mount Pleasant officers responded.
Henry, 20, was parked in a fire lane when a police officer knocked on the driver’s-side window. He moved away believing the officer was instructing him to.
Henry was shot through his windshield. The officer who shot him, Aaron Hess, said Henry was driving toward him, hit him, and wouldn’t stop. Another officer, Ronald Beckley of the Mount Pleasant police force, also fired. But Beckley said in a deposition that he was firing at the person on the hood, not knowing it was Hess and believing it was “the aggressor.” 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.
The federal Justice Department did not file criminal civil rights charges. “Neither accident, mistake, fear, negligence nor bad judgment is sufficient to establish a willful federal criminal civil rights violation,” US Attorney Preet Bharara said.
The Pleasantville Police Benevolent Association later named Hess its Officer of the Year.
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