Pleasantville (NY) Officers Contradicting Themselves in Police Shooting of Black College Student: Officer Not Struck by Henry's Car, Jumped on Hood & Started Firing

From [HERE] The scene surrounding Danroy Henry's death two years ago was so chaotic that a Mount Pleasant police officer ended up shooting at a fellow cop, not the 20-year-old whose death sparked cries of police brutality, according to the transcript of a deposition released Friday.

The statements contradict what Mount Pleasant authorities said in the aftermath of the shooting outside a bar in the Thornwood Shopping Center on the night of Oct. 17, 2010, the Henry family's attorney, Michael Sussman, says. 

Originally, authorities had said Mount Pleasant police officer Ronald Beckley fired at Henry's car after it hit Pleasantville officer Aaron Hess and headed toward Beckley.

But in Beckley's deposition, taken Tuesday and released by Sussman, he said he heard gunshots at the Thornwood Shopping Center that night and fired at Hess, not at Henry's car. Beckley said he did not realize Hess was a police officer because the area was dimly lit.

Henry, who had been in the bar earlier, was sitting behind the wheel of his Nissan in a parking lot fire lane when Hess knocked on the driver's-side window, prosecutors have said. Police said Henry sped off; his family contends that he drove away at reasonable speed, believing the officer was telling him to move. Officer Hess has alleged that he was struck by the car and thrown on to the hood, suffering a broken knee cap in the process.

Beckley said in his deposition that he was about 30 feet away from Hess. He heard the first shot, saw Hess mount the car and saw the gun in Hess' hand. He then heard three or four shots and fired at Hess, and believed he had struck Hess' knee, he testified. The car then careened past Beckley and came to a stop.

"The vehicle came to a rest. The person on the hood rolled off and came to rest at a curb ... he was in a foetal position, holding his knee," Beckley testified, according to the deposition. "And Officer Hess said his knee was shot." Sussman said Mount Pleasant officials' statements after the shooting presented a "radically different story" than the events of that night.

"Nothing was said to the effect that Hess was the aggressor and that Beckley, the second officer, shot at Hess," Sussman said Saturday.

A Westchester County grand jury declined to indict both officers last year, and Henry's family filed a civil suit against Hess in April, seeking $120 million in damages. Henry's friends maintain that they were not allowed to help Henry after he was shot three times.

Brian Sokoloff, who represents Hess, declined to comment on the evidence Saturday but criticized the leaked deposition, as he has yet to finish questioning Beckley.

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]