Lawyer Deposes Pleasantville Police Officer Sued for Killing Unarmed Black College Student & Denying Medical Care

From [HERE] The Pleasantville police officer who fatally shot Danroy Henry Jr. was questioned for five hours Tuesday in a federal lawsuit filed by the dead Black student’s family, a session that the family’s lawyer said largely “vindicates” their position on the shooting. “It vindicates a great deal of what’s been said,” said lawyer Michael Sussman, who accuses officer Aaron Hess of unjustifiably killing the 20-year-old Pace University football player outside Finnegan’s Grill in Thornwood in October 2010.

Sussman questioned Hess from 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., with a 75-minute lunch break, pressing the officer on various matters related to the shooting. The deposition also was attended by Henry’s family — who is suing Hess, Pleasantville and Westchester County — and some of Henry’s friends who are involved in related civil rights lawsuits against the county, Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville and several police officers. The details of the deposition are expected to be held from public view for some time, though Zelman said she will pass transcripts on to the U.S. Department of Justice, which has said it is looking into the matter. Henry’s family has accused Hess of murder, though a Westchester County grand jury declined to criminally charge him.

Henry was shot outside the bar in the early morning hours after a homecoming game celebration. Police claim he was driving from a fire zone outside Finnegan’s when Hess fired into his Nissan. The officer, who claimed through his lawyer that the car was accelerating toward him, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a Westchester County grand jury.

Several witnesses, including passengers of Henry’s car, said he drove away because an officer had ordered him to leave the fire lane. Before he could slow down, Hess jumped in front of the vehicle, onto the hood, and started firing. The passenger in the car, Brandon Cox, told authorities that Henry slowed down before he was shot by police. [MORE] According to witness testimony, Henry was handcuffed and placed on the sidewalk, where he lay dying. He was left on the street for 15 minutes without any medical attention. [MORE]

Also in attendance was Bonita Zelman, who is representing friends who claim police brutalized them in the shooting’s chaotic aftermath. She will have a chance to question Hess when the deposition continues in about two weeks. “Today is the first time where publicly, at least within the lawsuit, and under oath, Aaron Hess was forced to face Mr. and Mrs. Henry after killing their son, and face my clients who were victims of his the brutality that he precipitated by officers on the scene,” Zelman told The Journal News.

She wouldn’t discuss specifics of the deposition, but said of Hess, “In my opinion, he wasn’t telling the truth.”

Earlier, Zelman and Damon K. Jones, a Henry family supporter and head of the Westchester chapter of Blacks in Law Enforcement, staged a news conference outside the courthouse in White Plains. Late last week, Sussman held a phone conference with reporters to discuss the deposition.

Sokoloff said that he is against any side “trying their case” in the press.

“It really does nobody any good to litigate this case in the media,” he said. “I understand that reporters have a job to do, but evidence and explanations cannot be captured in soundbites or 10-second clips. And it’s really not fair to the process to try to turn the litigation into a war of press conferences and press releases. In fact, it’s a despicable tactic.”