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This is the second in a series of stories on the anniversary of DJ Henry's death. The first focused on supporters changing their Facebook statuses in honor of the Pace University student.
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. -- On the first anniversary of his death, it is easy to find tributes to Pace University football star Danroy "DJ" Henry all over the internet. There are Facebook pages, twitter streams and YouTube videos that address the killing of the 20-year-old by a police officer, but none has gotten as much attention as the song by hip-hop stars Kanye West and Jay-Z.
West and Jay-Z dedicated their song "Murder to Excellence" to Henry, demonstrating that the controversial killing struck a chord not only in the hearts of friends and family, but in pop culture as well.
"This is to the memory of Danroy Henry. Too much enemy fire to catch a friendly," Jay-Z raps in the first verse of "Murder to Excellence" which was released as part of the album "Watch the Throne" in August.
Henry, a wide receiver for the Pace University football team, was shot through the windshield by a Pleasantville police officer who was hit by and thrown onto the roof of Henry's car outside of Finnegan's Grill, a now defunct bar and restaurant in Thornwood.
Pleasantville police officer Aaron Hess was not indicted by a Grand Jury, but Henry's family believes that Henry was simply obeying police instructions to move out of a fire lane. They have filed a civil lawsuit against the officer.
Henry's father, Dan Henry, thanked Kanye West and Jay-Z in a YouTube video for "bringing attention to what for us is real life and what for many people is the story of Danroy Henry."
Dan Henry also said that his family has subpoenaed for more evidence of what happened on the night that Henry was killed, including surveillance videos and 911 audio recordings.
"We're following the trail of truth to the truth. We're not going to be distracted and we're not going to go away," the father said. "I'm DJ Henry and you're DJ Henry. If this could happen to a person pulling out of a fire lane who was obeying police instructions, it could happen to any of us."
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