By Police1 Staff
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — An officer says he shot at another officer who he thought was “the aggressor” during an incident that ended in the death of a suspect, challenging prior reports of how it unfolded.
Retired Mount Pleasant Officer Ronald Beckley said he drew his weapon and fired at Pleasantville Officer Aaron Hess, who fatally shot Danroy Henry Jr., a Pace University football player, in October 2010.
“I was shooting at a person that I thought was the aggressor and was inflicting deadly physical force on another,” Beckley said.
Beckley, who said he didn’t realize Hess was an officer, was deposed last week as part of the lawsuit against Hess. Laid out in new documents, Beckley’s version of what happened differs from the original police account.
According to Mt. Pleasant police, Henry was attempting to move his vehicle out of a fire lane when he moved the car in the direction of Hess and hit the accelerator.
Hess said he lunged onto the hood of Henry’s car to avoid being run over, then fired through the windshield to stop the suspect, which led to a grand jury clearing Hess following an internal investigation.
As part of the deposition, Beckley said he heard a shot and saw Hess get on the hood of Henry’s car, where Hess fired at Henry again, The Associated Press reported. At that time, Beckley said he drew his weapon and fired at Hess.
According to his deposition, the District Attorney did not interview Beckley at the time of the incident. The police report does not contain an account of another officer firing a weapon and striking Hess.