Danroy Henry: Slain Pace Student's Family Says Son Was 'Singled Out' Due to Racism

Danroy Henry: Slain Pace Student’s Family Says Son Was ‘Singled Out’ Due to Racism

By Ruth Manuel-Logan on Oct 19th 2010 12:11PM

Filed under: News, Race and Civil Rights

The family of gunned down Pace University football player Danroy Henry, who was brutally murdered by police Sunday morning, are claiming that their son was “singled out” by police because he’s black.

The 20-year-old “exemplary student” was at Finnegan’s Grill, a bar in Mount Pleasant, New York, last Saturday night. Henry had reportedly been sitting in his car, parked in a fire lane with two friends waiting at the bar’s parking lot for another buddy to join them. The junior defensive player had not even been a patron at the watering hole that night.

There was commotion in front of the bar, which then turned into a fight that spilled in to the street and parking lot. Finnegan’s management decided to close the bar, which sent at least 50 patrons out on to the street. Local police were called to investigate the occurrence, which prompted a melee. Police backup were also summoned to help calm the situation.

When an officer spotted Henry’s car, he approached it and tapped on the glass. Police reports indicate that Henry tried to take off, and in turn, the policeman was struck with the vehicle’s side mirror and got vaulted on to the top of its hood.

The police reports then state that in an attempt to flee the scene, Henry allegedly did not stop his vehicle but plowed in to another officer, who tried to help the colleague who was still on Henry’s car hood. All the while, both the policeman on Henry’s car hood and the one whom Danroy Henry allegedly struck fired their guns at the 20-year-old youth behind the wheel.

The vehicle finally came to a stop, when it struck another parked car. Henry staggered our of his vehicle and collapsed on the ground.

Henry’s grieving parents, Danroy Sr. and Angela, who had watched their pride and joy play one of his best games ever at a Pace homecoming game only hours earlier, are committed to finding out the truth about what happened to their son:

“We will not stop until the truth is out!”

They are convinced that Henry was a victim of racism and are determined to get down to the truth of what really happened the night of the shooting.

Danroy Sr. told the New York Daily News:

“You’re going to get the police reports. So we’re going to need to do some work on our end to make sure all that’s factual …. There’s a lot of witnesses who say that’s not the version, so we need to get to the bottom of it, one way or the other.”

While the Henry’s are keeping mum for now, they did post a note on their front door for all to see in their undaunting efforts to get the good word out about their beloved son whom they affectionately referred to as “DJ”:

“We appreciate and love all of you!” the note said. “We know you loved DJ too. You can help by telling everyone and the media how wonderful Danny was. What type of person he was. Talk about his character, smile and how above all, he loved his family! Thank you, thank you, thank you.”