The family of DJ Henry has filed a federal lawsuit against two Mt. Pleasant, N.Y., police officers for what they describe as reckless behavior that contributed to the death of the 21-year-old student from Easton, Mass.
Officers Kevin Gilmartin and Ronald Gagnon and the Town of Mt. Pleasant are named in the lawsuit, which was filed on Oct. 10.
The two officers arrived on the scene after Henry had been shot and severely wounded by Officer Aaron Hess, who told a grand jury that Henry tried to run him over. Hess is named in a separate lawsuit. Officers Gagnon and Gilmartin, according to witnesses, took control of Henry, who was standing outside the car on his own two feet, but failed to summon emergency medical crews to the shopping mall where the tragedy unfolded.
Mike Sussman, the attorney for the Henry family, said he did not expect this case to reach the federal court trial stage until sometime in 2014.
WGBH reached out to the Mt. Pleasant police, but they are not commenting on the civil law suit at this time. Meanwhile, a federal criminal investigation by the Justice Department continues to probe the circumstances that led to Henry’s death nearly 2 years ago today.
