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Mount Pleasant, NY, United States (AHN) – The family of Danroy “D.J.” Henry, a Pace University student who died last year, is up in arms over the decision of a police union to honor with an award the officer responsible for the fatal shooting.

“It just shows their inhumanity and their arrogance,” the mother of Henry, Angela Henry, told the New York Daily News on Thursday.

The Westchester County Police Benevolent Association named the officer who shot Henry, Aaron Hess, officer of the year earlier this month.

A spokesman for the union, Matthew Listwan, told the Journal News the award was not meant to be made public. He explained that the union “unanimously voted to present the award… as an expression of support for the dignified and professional manner in which Officer Hess has conducted himself throughout his career and this ordeal.”

The county district attorney earlier this year said that a grand jury found no reasonable cause to charge Hess in the death. The jury decided after hearing testimony from 46 civilians, including some Pace University students and Hess himself, who testified without protection of immunity from prosecution.

Hess shot Henry Oct. 17 when he and fellow Mount Pleasant police officers responded to a bar brawl in Thornwood.

According to police, Henry, who was black, allegedly struck officers, who are white, with his car after an officer knocked on one of the windows of his vehicle.

The family of Henry, a business management junior who played wide receiver and defensive back for the Pace football team, has asked the Justice Department to investigate the case. They say Henry was murdered after he tried to move his car from the fire lane.

Two officers, including Hess, suffered minor injuries after the shooting. Four teammates of Henry were taken into custody after the incident for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstruction. The quarterback of the football team, Joseph Romanick, was charged with felony criminal mischief.

But according to the four friends, they had tried to aid Henry after he was shot. One allegedly told officers he was certified in CPR but was beaten by police and threatened “he would be next” when he insisted. All four were cleared of charges last month following a motion from the district attorney to dismiss the allegations against them.

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