Charges Dismissed Against Slain Pace University Student’s Teammates - Unarmed Black Student Killed by Police

 Henry, a 20-year-old student at Pace University, was killed by Mt. Pleasant (NY) Police in October as he sat in his car with his friends. He was unarmed. 

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Prosecutors sought Wednesday to dismiss charges against four teammates of a Pace University college football player arrested after he was fatally shot by a police officer.

Convicting the four teammates of slain student Danroy “D.J.” Henry would “not serve the ends of justice,” prosecutors with the Westchester County district attorney’s office wrote in a motion filed in Mount Pleasant Town Court. Three teammates of the slain Pace University athlete are accused of misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct and obstruction. They are Joseph Garcia of Floral Park, N.Y.; Yves Delpeche of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Daniel Parker of Lauderhill, Fla. A fourth teammate, Joseph Romanick of Slidell, La., is charged with criminal mischief, a felony.

Pace University said in a statement Wednesday that it was pleased with the decision by the Westchester County district attorney, Janet DiFiore, to dismiss the charges against the men. Three of them still attend Pace, and Garcia graduated in December, the university said.

In the court papers filed Wednesday, prosecutors wrote that the defendants’ actions after Henry’s killing on Oct. 17 resulted from “impulsive and youthful visceral reactions to the sudden, unexpected shooting of their friend.”

Prosecutors added: “The fact their conduct caused no physical injury to anyone (civilian or police) provide additional compelling factors supporting a discretionary dismissal.”

The defendants’ attorney, Bonita Zelman, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.