Jury rules against cop in D.J. Henry shooting lawsuit

Matt Spillane | Rockland/Westchester Journal News

A jury has awarded $150,000 to a teammate of Danroy "D.J." Henry Jr. in a ruling against the former Pleasantville police officer who shot and killed the Pace University football player in 2010.

The verdict was reached Thursday in White Plains federal court, where a trial covering lawsuits by several Pace students and other bystanders had wrapped up this week. They had accused police of excessive force or other civil rights violations during the shooting outside a Thornwood bar on Oct. 17, 2010.

Brian Sokoloff, a lawyer for Aaron Hess, the officer who shot Henry while he was on the hood of the 20-year-old's car, said the jury ruled against his client and Pleasantville in favor of Desmond Hinds, who was a passenger in Henry's car during the shooting.

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"It's disappointing," Sokoloff told The Journal News/lohud, adding that there are pending motions before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas that could affect the verdict. "It's not the end of the line on this."

Hinds was one of the Pace students who filed a lawsuit in the aftermath of the shooting. His lawyer, Bonita Zelman, could not immediately be reached for comment.

No information on the verdict was immediately available from court officials.

"I think the jurors decided with their hearts instead of with their brains," Sokoloff said. "I think the verdict was motivated by sympathy. The jurors heard time and time again about D.J. Henry, but he was not a plaintiff in this case. And the reason the plaintiff kept playing the D.J. Henry angle, in my view, was to tug at the heartstrings of the jurors.

"Aaron Hess did not really get to testify about how this incident affected him," he said. "The jurors heard that he lost his career as a police officer, but it affects him to this day."

The shooting occurred outside Finnegan's Grill and Bar in the Thornwood Town Center. Police had responded to a large disturbance, where hundreds of people were celebrating Pace's homecoming weekend.

Hess ended up getting hit by Henry's car and landed on its hood, and fired the shots that killed the junior defensive back from Massachusetts.

Hess testified during the trial that he could have stepped out of the way of Henry's car as it headed toward him, but that he had no reason to back off at that point because he expected the driver to stop once he put his hand out and yelled, "Stop."

Sokoloff said Hess should be protected by qualified immunity, which shields public officials, including police officers, from lawsuits if their actions were "objectively reasonable."

"It's a legal decision to be made by a judge," he said. "The undisputed evidence in the case was that Aaron Hess fired all four shots when he was on the hood of a moving vehicle. And our view is that, as a matter of law, he's entitled to qualified immunity."

The shooting took place after a chaotic scene in which police responded to a report of a fight around the bar and shopping center shortly after 1:30 a.m.

Henry and his friends were in a Nissan Altima in the fire lane of the parking lot, and were not involved in the dispute. Henry started to drive away after police approached the car.

Hess testified during the trial that he was in the plaza when he heard a car "rev up" and heard someone shout "Stop." He then looked over and saw an officer "get knocked off balance" as the car sped up, he testified, and an officer continued to yell at the driver to stop as the car moved around a curve.

Hess testified that he stepped into the road, put his hand up and yelled "stop." The driver kept going, though, and Hess testified that he ended up on the hood and fired at the driver because "I thought he was going to kill me. I fired to stop him from doing that."

Mount Pleasant Police Officer Ronald Beckley and Brandon Cox, a passenger in the car, both testified earlier in the trial that Hess had fired a shot before he ended up on the hood.

Lawsuits by Henry's family and Cox against Hess, Pleasantville and Mount Pleasant have already been settled.

Twitter: @MattSpillane