Body camera video reveals chaotic scene as deputy fatally shoots Sonya Massey, who called 911 for help: NPR
In this image taken from body camera video released by Illinois State Police, Sonya Massey, left, speaks with former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson outside her home in Springfield, Ill., on July 6, 2024.
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Sonya Massey bent down and apologized to an Illinois sheriff’s deputy seconds before he shot black woman three times at his home, with a fatal blow to the head, as body camera video released Monday showed.
An Illinois grand jury indicted former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, 30, who is white, last week. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and official misconduct.
The video confirms prosecutors’ earlier account of a tense moment when Grayson yelled from across the counter for Massey to put down a kettle of hot water. He then threatened to shoot her, Massey ducked, stood up briefly, and Grayson fired a pistol at her.
Authorities said Massey, 36, had called 911 earlier to report a suspected prowler. Video shows two officers responding just before 1 a.m. on July 6 to her home in Springfield, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. They first walked around the house and found a black SUV with a broken window in the driveway.
It took Massey three minutes to open the door after the police knocked, and she immediately said, “Don’t hurt me.”
She seemed confused as they talked at the door, and she repeated that she needed help, prayed to God, and told them that she didn’t know who owned the car.
Inside the house, officers appeared frustrated as she sat on the couch and searched her purse as they asked her for identification to complete a report before leaving. Grayson then pointed to a pot burning on the stove.
“We don’t need fire here,” he said.
Massey immediately stood up and walked to the stove, moving the pot closer to the sink. She and Grayson appeared to laugh together about her “steaming hot” pan before she suddenly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
“You better (fuck) not do that, or I swear to God I will (fuck) shoot you in the (fuck) face.” He then pulled out a 9mm pistol and ordered her to drop the pot.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” Massey said. In the body camera footage, Grayson can be seen pointing the weapon at her. She ducked down and raised her hands.
In this image taken from body camera video released by Illinois State Police on Monday, July 22, 2024, former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, left, points a gun at Sonya Massey.
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Grayson remained in the living room, across from Massey and separated by a kitchen counter. Prosecutors said this separation allowed Grayson “relative distance and protection” from Massey and the pot of hot water.
After Grayson shot her, Grayson prevented his teammates from getting the medical kit to save her.
“You can go get it, but it’s a shot to the head,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do about it, man.”
“What else are we going to do? I’m not going to pour boiling (damn) water on your (damn) face,” he added.
Seeing that Massey was still breathing, he relented and said he would also get his suit. The other deputy said, “At least we can try to stop the bleeding.”
Grayson told responding police, “She brought boiling water and came towards me, with boiling water. She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came towards me with boiling water.”
At a press conference Monday afternoon, the family’s attorney, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, called Grayson’s “revised” defense a “sham.”
“She needed a helping hand. She didn’t need a bullet in the face,” Crump said of Massey.
Asked why Massey told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Crump said she had been undergoing treatment for mental health issues. He noted that she invoked the name of God at the beginning of the encounter and asked for a Bible after the officers entered the room.
At Massey’s funeral on Friday, Crump said the video he and his family saw would “shock the conscience of the American people.”
This undated photo provided by the family’s attorney in July 2024 shows Sonya Massey in Springfield, Ill.
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Massey’s father, James Wilburn, demanded that the county court system be completely open during the investigation and prosecution, and transparent with the public.
“The only time I will see my child again is when I leave this world,” Wilburn said. “And I never want anyone else in the United States to be part of this alliance.”
Grayson, who was fired last week, is being held without bail in the Sangamon County Jail. If convicted, he faces 45 years to life in prison for the murder charge, six to 30 years for the assault charge and two to five years for the misdemeanor charge.
This police mugshot provided by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office shows Sean Grayson, on July 17, 2024, in Springfield, Ill.
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His attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment on Monday.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for the Massey family “as they cope with this unimaginable and senseless loss.”
“When we call for help, all of us as Americans — no matter who we are or where we live — should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,” Biden said. “Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding police officer reminds us that Black Americans regularly face fear for their safety in ways that many of the rest of us do not.”
Massey’s death is the latest example of Black people are killed in recent years was arrested by police at home.
In May, a Hispanic sheriff’s deputy in Florida shot and killed Roger Fortsonwhen a senior Air Force pilot opened the door of his Fort Walton Beach home with a pistol pointed down. Deputy Sheriff Eddie Duran was fired.
In 2019, a white police officer in Fort Worth, Texas, shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson through the back window of her home after responding to a non-emergency call reporting that Jefferson’s front door was open. Aaron Dean, a former police officer, has sentenced for manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.
In 2018, a white Dallas police officer shot and killed Botham Jean, who was unarmed, after mistaking his apartment for hers. Former police officer Amber Guyger has sentenced for murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Crump has represented families in each case. as part of his efforts to hold black people accountable for the killings of black people at the hands of police. Crump has also represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man, has died. after he was strapped face down on a stretcher in December 2022. Two emergency medical professionals face murder charges in that case.
