Jay-Z, Rihanna, and many more stars of the music world have created and signed a petition to reopen the case of a man who was shot and killed by police in 2010, according to NME. The man, DJ Henry, was shot and killed by police officer Aaron Hess outside of a bar in Pleasantville, New York when officers reportedly asked him to move his car out of a fire lane. Police later reported he’d rammed two of them with his car, prompting them to open fire, but eyewitness accounts contradict the official report.
Rihanna and Jay were joined by Charlize Theron, Mary J. Blige, Pharrell Williams, and more, addressing the petition to New York Attorney General William Barr asking him to “reopen the case and probe the wrongful death of Danroy ‘D.J.’ Henry.”
“As the Department knows, this agonizing case remains an unhealed wound for the Henry family and the people of New York,” the letter reads. “More concerning, even a cursory review of the fact pattern of what occurred distills more questions than answers. DJ, a Black youth with a bright future ahead of him, was killed for no apparent reason inside his own vehicle. The facts of the case reek of local conflict of interest, racial bias and even false testimony.”
It continues, “But like so many other unarmed and innocent young, Black men who find themselves guilty of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, DJ too, lost his life for no good reason and with absolutely no good explanation — to this very day, Justice, it appears, has been denied.”
The petition comes as protests against police violence continue across the nation including the participation of many hip-hop stars such as YBN Cordae, who was arrested at a sit-in in Kentucky demanding accountability for officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor.