DA Rocah calls for Independent Review of the DJ Henry and Chamberlain Sr. Police Shootings

White Plains, NY, June 10, 2021— Sorraya Sampson, President and CEO of the Urban League of Westchester, issued the following statement today in response to the Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah’s announcement that there will be an independent review of the DJ Henry and Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. police involved shootings.

“This is a critical moment in time, where the families of DJ Henry and Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. can get a fair chance at justice. An independent review will make it possible to answer the questions that many of us in the community have been asking for a decade. An objective review is crucial to examine the evidence and circumstances in their entirety, with fairness and integrity, and determine further actions.

Police reform, demands an evidence-based approach and not an institutional or systemic one, and meaningful reform requires accountability. Reform is far too important to be held up by politics. For law enforcement to maintain trust with the community, there must be transparency, and the call for the review is a significant step. To further police reform, we strongly support the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, it is a comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, end racial and religious profiling and qualified immunity.

We are pleased that the District Attorney’s office has decided to review these cases as the families may finally be able to close a wound that has been open for far too long.”