Topline
Sonya Massey, a Black woman from Illinois, was fatally shot in her home by a former deputy after reporting a suspected prowler to 911, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called on the Sangamon County sheriff to resign due to his “failed” response to Massey’s case.
Key Facts
Massey—a 36-year-old mother of two—was fatally shot by Sean Grayson, a former Sangamon County police deputy, on the morning of July 6 in her Springfield, Illinois home after reporting a suspected intruder to 911.
Grayson, 30, was indicted on July 17 and pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, and one count each of official misconduct and aggravated battery with a firearm, NPR Illinois reported.
The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement following the indictment saying Grayson “did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards,” and confirmed he was terminated from his position.
Civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump, who represents Massey’s family, said Grayson’s indictment was a “step toward justice for Sonya’s loved ones.”
On Monday, the Illinois State Police released 36 minutes of body cam footage of the incident from Grayson and the other officer who responded to Massey’s house that morning, causing social media to erupt, with many comparing Massey’s case to the fatal police shooting involving other Black women like Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson.
Forbes has reached out to Grayson’s attorney for comment.
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News Peg
During a Wednesday press conference for a bill signing, Pritzker said Massey died in “a horrific fashion,” adding more has to be done to protect people. Though he gave credit to the Illinois state police for doing the investigation in 10 days, he criticized Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell and called for his resignation. Pritzker claimed the sheriff failed to explain how Grayson was hired even though he’s been fired from several other police departments. Pritzker also said Campbell “failed” to put forward reforms for police training, and still hasn’t met with the Massey family to discuss Massey’s case.
What Does Sonya Massey’s Autopsy Reveal?
The Sangamon County Coroner’s Office released the results from Sonya Massey’s final autopsy, which confirm she died from a gunshot wound to the head, NBC News reports. The bullet reportedly entered under her left eye, perforated a carotid artery and exited from the back of her neck. Massey also had minor blunt force injuries on her right leg, according to the autopsy. “Why this is so significant is that it confirms that deputy Sean Grayson shot in a downward trajectory,” Crump said during a news conference Friday following the release of the report. “[These] autopsy findings coupled with the video, where we see her ducking, [and] says, ‘Sorry, sir, sorry,’ he shot when she’s making the motion coming up. That’s how you get the downward trajectory, and you see on the video, his arms, he aims down.”
What Did The Bodycam Footage Reveal?
The footage shows Grayson and another deputy searching Massey’s property and noticing a car with a broken window before knocking on the door. Massey opens the door and lets the deputies in after a brief conversation about the car. Massey offered to give the deputies some documents, but Grayson noticed the stove was on and ordered her to turn it off. Massey then goes to turn off a pot of boiling water and picks up the pot, causing Grayson to tell her to stay “away from the boiling water.” Massey responds “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” and Grayson tells her “you better f— not before I f— shoot you in the f— face.” He then raises his gun and points it at her and yells at Massey to “drop the f— pot!” Massey then appears to duck and apologize before three shots are heard. After a few seconds, one of the deputies says “shots fired” and calls for emergency medical services. “Dude, I’m not taking f— boiling water to the f— head,” Grayson then says. “And look, it came right to our feet, too.” Moments after the shooting, Grayson talks to another law enforcement official. “She had boiling water and came at me with boiling water,” he says in the video. “She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at [me] with boiling water.”
Chief Critics
Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the killing of Massey in a statement Tuesday, saying she “deserved to be safe,” adding she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are “grieving her senseless death.” Biden also issued a statement Monday: “Sonya called the police because she was concerned about a potential intruder,” he said. “When we call for help, all of us as Americans — regardless of who we are or where we live — should be able to do so without fearing for our lives.” Both Biden and Harris commended the actions of the Springfield State’s Attorney’s Office and called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was drafted in 2021 after the 2020 police shooting of Floyd in Minneapolis. “Sonya Massey was concerned for her safety and called law enforcement to her home for protection,” Pritzker said in a statement issued July 17. “Like all Illinoisans, she deserved that protection. Instead, innocent and unarmed, she was gunned down by an officer of the law.”
Tangent
Grayson worked for six different law enforcement agencies over the span of four years, according to the Associated Press. He worked part-time positions in Illinois for the Pawnee Police Department, the Kincaid Police Department and the Virden Police Department in 2020 and 2021. He then worked for the Auburn Police Department full time until May 2022 before moving on to another full-time position with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office. Grayson left that sheriff’s office in April 2023 and was hired full time by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in May 2023.
