BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A letter sent to the Department of Justice, signed by celebrities such as Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Mary J. Blige asked federal officials to reevaluate whether a pattern of discrimination played a role in Danroy "D.J." Henry's death.
Henry was a 20-year-old Black college student from Easton who was shot and killed by a white police officer outside a restaurant at Mount Pleasant in 2010.
Henry was a football at Pace College at the time, and was shot as he was driving away from the restaurant. Officers had responded to a call about disbursing a group patrons outside who had arrived after a homecoming party.
His father is grateful for the support and the Black Lives Matter movement.
"It's giving people a chance to swim with the tide on this issue, where maybe they lacked courage to swim against it in the past," he said. "I think that goes for you and I, and people in the community, it goes for people who are in political positions, and for people who have some celebrity status."
The letter to the DOJ states that the facts of the case include transgressions such as local conflict of interest, racial bias, and false testimony.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports
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