The cops did not know who were in the car; except that they were Black. That in itself can’t be "probable cause."
[Speaking Truth To Power]
So Now Other Cops Know What To Do For Top Award…
How can a policeman kill an innocent person and be named Policeman of The Year?
Well, apparently, if that cop is White and kills a Black person he can. Members of the Klan in the south must be praising their northern brothers in “blue.”
On the morning of October 17, 2010 Officer Aaron Hess fired into the car of 20-year-old Pace University football player Danroy “DJ” Henry’s car, killing him and wounding two other occupants in the car outside of Finnegan’s Grill in Mount Pleasant, New York. Cops were, supposedly, responding to reports of a fight inside Finnegan’s that spilled out onto the streets. They claimed Officer Hess tried to protect himself after Henry, allegedly, tried to run him over apparently with no motive.
The allegation has been refuted by witnesses at the scene, who say Henry was trying to leave the scene of the disturbance when Officer Hess walked into the path of Henry’s moving car. Brandon Cox, a friend of Henry’s and a football player himself, was in the car and got shot in the arm. He said he thought one of the approaching cops wanted them to move the car. “We did nothing to deserve this,” he said. One of the last words he heard from his friend was “They shot me! They shot me!”
A Westchester grand jury voted not to indict Hess and Officer Ronald Beckley both of whom who fired into Henry’s car. Hess joined the Mount Pleasant Police after serving five years in the New York Police Department (NYPD).
This week, the Police Benevolence Association (PBA) gave Hess the “Officer of the Year Award.” The PBA Union Chief Matthew Listwan said the group was honoring Officer Hess because “The PBA membership unanimously voted to present the award to Officer Hess as an expression of support for the dignified and professional manner in which Officer Hess has conducted himself throughout his career and this ordeal and, most particularly, the very difficult aftermath of this tragic incident. The entire PBA membership is proud to count Aaron Hess among its ranks and wanted him to know it.”
In other words, shoot an innocent Black man and we got your back. What kind of minds come together to even make these type of macabre decisions?
Listwan also said: “The Police Benevolent Association did not seek to create a public spectacle by this award, elicit media attention or additional public support for Aaron Hess, or offend the Henry family, whose continuing grief is obvious and understandable. The source of the disclosure of this award remains unknown to us.” 
In otherwords, even Listwan realized that the award was so inappropriate that he claims he didn’t know who publicized it–how can an award for “officer of the year” be made in secret? Unless Listwan is not serious and is taunting the victim’s family and Henry’s supporters and friends.
If the PBA is so proud of Officer Hess why keep his award secret?
Angela Henry, the mother of Danroy, said the award “speaks to the arrogance and inhumane treatment that our family has had to endure since October 17. I guess he can kill an innocent person and be named officer of the year.”
Danroy’s father, Dan, said: “They can throw whatever party they want and award him however they choose. But they run the risk of having to reconcile this award with the fact Hess could be convicted of a federal crime.” The Henrys have filed a $120 million lawsuit and the Justice Department will review the case for civil rights crimes.
This case reminds me of the Timothy Stansbury case in Brooklyn and the Sean Bell Case in Queens. Stansbury, 19, was shot by trigger-happy cop, Officer Richard Neri, after Stansbury was leaving a party in his own building. Neri shot Stansbury as he entered a rooftop door–Neri claimed he was “startled.” These are the kind of folks who are supposed to protect the public.
In that case, it became clear NYPD cops routinely patrolled apartment rooftops with guns drawn for no damn good reason.
In the Sean Bell Case, Bell, 23, a father of two, was killed in a fusillade of 50 shots in his car after NYPD claimed he tried to run over an undercover cop. The undercover cop is known to have been drinking at the Kalua Club across the street from the Jamaica, Queens Train Station. The day of Bell’s death was to have been his wedding day.
How many outrages are we going to take from those who’re perpetrating a slow form of genocide against Black males, with the blessing of corrupt White and Black politicians? Isn’t it time we redirect our pain into maximum political pressure and bring such assassin, whose salaries come from tax-payers, to their knees?
The PBA has just spat in the face of the Henry family and all sensible open minded New Yorkers. Killing a young college student of great promise than honoring the assassin.
We’re told the police were responding to a disturbance, possibly, a fight. Since this incident didn’t involve firearms—until the law enforcement nightriders arrived—why were they pulling guns out in the first place? Henry was not firing a gun and had not committed a crime. The cops did not know who were in the car; except that they were Black. That in itself can’t be “probable cause.”
Disturbances and fights happen at bars regularly. If this was a bar full of Whites would these killer cops have been pulling their guns so cavalierly or fired into a car with White occupants?
In the end, it’s about taking a strong stand, holding killer cops and politicians who do nothing accountable. Otherwise skinheads masquerading in police uniforms will continue to shoot down innocent Black males.
“Speaking Truth To Empower.”
