In the early morning of July 6, 2024, Sonya Massey called the police to report a suspected intruder on her property in Springfield, Ill. A short time later, the 36-year-old mother of two was dead from a gunshot to the head, and Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson is accused of her murder.
The shocking sequence of events was captured on graphic police body cam footage, now released to the public (content warning: some viewers could find the footage upsetting). Meanwhile, the fact Grayson, a white officer, shot and killed Massey, who was Black, after shouting expletives at her and with no reasonable threat of harm, has been roundly condemned in the media and by public officials. The police body cam footage was only released after days-long demonstrations in the Springfield area.
In a statement referring to Massey’s killing, President Biden said in part,
Sonya Massey, a beloved mother, friend, daughter, and young Black woman, should be alive today. Sonya called the police because she was concerned about a potential intruder. 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. Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not …”
via CBS News
Sonya Massey shooting timeline
Before Sonya Massey was shot and killed, body cam footage shows Springfield police searching her property for a suspected intruder. Police examine a car with broken windows in her driveway, but inform Massey they have found no one on her property. At one point, Massey tells Sean Grayson something unintelligible, “Don’t hurt me,” possibly, to which Grayson responds, “Why would we hurt you? You called us.”
Grayson was alone inside Massey’s house addressing paperwork related to the call when he noticed boiling water on the stove in Massey’s kitchen, and asked Massey to move the water from the stove. Massey turns off the burner, but then picks up the pot. Grayson tells her to put it down, but Massey inexplicably says “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson attempted to warn Massey further, telling her he’d shoot her if she didn’t comply, using expletives. Finally, Massey apologized and tried to take cover, but Grayson fired anyway. The other officer tried to help Massey, who was still breathing, but Grayson can be heard to say it was a gunshot wound to the head, and “She’s done.” Massey was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
In the body cam footage, Grayson tells another officer at the scene, ” … I’m not taking a pot of boiling water to the f***ing face … She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.” Notably, Grayson only turned his body cam on after he fired his weapon. Most of the footage was captured by the other officer.
What are Sean Grayson’s charges?
On July 17, Sean Grayson was arrested and charged with five counts stemming from Sonya Massey’s shooting, including three counts of first-degree murder. Grayson, who pleaded not guilty, was fired from the sheriff’s office. Speaking with CBS News, Craig Futterman, noted that officers typically don’t let people enter kitchens in similar situations because of variables like knives and pans.
“First, I saw a woman who was clearly a little bit out of sorts, but didn’t look, and didn’t give off an appearance to any reasonable that she posed a threat of harm. Would any reasonable officer in that situation reasonably believe that their life is threatened, such as they would take out their gun and point it at her and threaten her life? It’s a clear no,” Futterman said after reviewing the body cam footage.
The Massey family lawyer, Ben Crump, told NBC Chicago that Massey had a history of mental health issues. “She needed a helping hand. She did not need a bullet to her face,” Crump said.
Published: Jul 23, 2024 01:04 pm