NY: Lawyers Demand Independent Investigation into police Killing Citing Witness Intimidation, Racism

Speaking at a Friday press conference, attorney Bonita Zelman blasted police officials and the Westchester County District Attorney for their handling of the investigation into the death of Danroy Henry.

Henry was killed over the weekend when Pleasantville police Officer Aaron Hess and Mount Pleasant police Officer Ronald Beckley opened fire on his vehicle after an alleged brawl took place at Finnegan's Bar and Grill in Thornwood. The shooting also wounding 20-year-old Easton, MA native Brandon Cox, who sat in the passenger seat.

Zelman is the attorney for a number of witnesses who were at the scene when the Pace University football player was killed, including those who were in the car with Henry at the time he was shot. On Friday, she demanded an outside investigation into the incident by the New York Attorney General or the U.S. Justice Department, citing witness intimidation, conflict of interest and possible race issues that could taint internal investigations being conducted by Mount Pleasant Police and the District Attorney's Office.

Zelman said they were "outraged" DA Janet DiFiore was allowing the local police department involved in the shooting to investigate.

DiFiore issued a statement asking anyone with information make themselves known to investigators. "I encourage all those with any relevant information to come forward," she said Friday.

The major case unit of the New York State Police is also investigating the shooting.

At the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, Zelman claimed that witnesses were being intimidated and that race played a key factor in Henry's death. She said Henry's friends were brutalized, tasered, and threatened with deadly force when they tried to help the dying 20-year-old student.

In a press conference earlier in the day, Mount Pleasant Police Chief Lou Alagno said the medical response was made three minutes after police saw Henry's condition and detailed the efforts to help Henry and Cox. "It is a tragedy to the Henry family and to the police community. No police officer wants to take a life," he said.

One of the students making allegations against police was Daniel Parker, of Lauderhill, FL. The 22-year-old said he demanded to give CPR on the dying Henry, but police allegedly put a gun to his ribs and told him to back off or he would be the next one to suffer a gunshot wound. His account could not be confirmed. "'Can I help him, I know CPR.' That is all I asked," Parker told dozens of reporters in attendance. "I said, 'He's dying, can I help him.'"

About 50 students and a number of civil rights activists stood behind Parker as he gave his brief statement. A number of current and former law enforcement officials also chimed in, blaming the police for misconduct and poor judgement.

Anthony Miranda, chair of the National Latinos Officers Association, said the use of force was uncalled for. He claimed the police officers put themselves at risk by jumping in front of Henry's car. "They responded to a call that did not require the level of force they used," he said. "The fear has to be real and the fear they receive can not be created by their own actions. Poor tactics should never be the excuse to use deadly force."

Pleasantville police union officials have been telling a different story, speaking up for the officers involved in the shooting. They said Hess and Beckley shot in self-defense after Henry ignored instructions to stop and seemed intent on running them over.

Charles Barron, of the New York City Council, called Henry's death one of the "most inhumane acts" he has seen, and said it would be a "cold blooded" crime to let anyone involved in the killing off the hook without proper justice being served. "I've been through a lot of these cases...We've been this way too many times," Barron said. "When you have a district attorney that will not prosecute police, that sends a signal that they can take our lives and get away with it. This madness must stop."

Those in attendance said the Westchester DA's office had a conflict in the case because they have a "working relationship" with local police departments including Pleasantville and Mount Pleasant.

Zelman also refuted some of the insinuations made about the incident, saying that Henry was not someone who drank, and that he had been told to leave a 'no parking' area before Hess, the Pleasantville officer, jumped in front of the car with his gun pulled. Hess allegedly ended up on the hood of the car, and started firing at Henry.

ABC Channel 7 is reporting that a source told them Henry had a blood alcohol level of .13 percent when he was shot and killed. The legal limit in New York State is .08 percent. Official toxicology reports have not been made public.

Zelman also called for an immediate dismissal of all charges pending against numerous Pace football players who were booked on the "trumped up charges" of obstructing government administration.

When asked about the fight that allegedly took place in the bar, she asked why those involved in the fight had not been charged, and why those that witnessed the killing of Henry were.

During a question period, many classified the statements made by Alagno as a cover-up for the"misconduct and brutality of the police" involved in the incident, said Zelman.

Earlier in the day, Alagno said the department was looking for a white blond-baired woman who had administered CPR and first aid to Hess and Henry. Those at the Tarrytown press conference said they knew who the woman was, but said the point was irrelevant. They questioned why police had let a white woman, who didn't reveal her medical experience, to give aid over Henry's own friends who had CPR training.

They disputed the police's account of the incident, saying that aid was not offered immediately to Henry and that police had failed in their duty to provide aid in the man's final moments of life, alleging they placed him under arrest and put handcuffs on him as he lay bleeding.

Alagno's account told a different story. He told reporters Henry was loaded into an ambulance just five minutes after police first noticed his "grave" condition and medical treatment began even earlier.

Zelman ended the conference with a warning: "I give you 48 hours to identify the other members of the Westchester County Police and other police departments who brutalized my clients," she said. "We want the ID's of the cops that were running around with tasers and guns pulled... The public has a right to know. No student or citizen is safe while those other police are walking the streets of this county."

Original report here




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