By Brooke Mallory, OAN Staff
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 11:10 AM
Authorities released police body camera footage Monday of the moments before Sonia Massey, 36, was shot and killed by officers after calling police at her home in Springfield, Illinois.
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Massey was killed on July 6th.Number An attorney representing her family said that after calling the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, she became scared there was a “peeping tom” or wanderer outside the home and immediately called police.
Former Sangamon County Deputy Sheriff Shawn Grayson is accused of shooting Massey in the face after he and another officer were called to Massey’s residence just before 1 a.m.
According to Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, Deputy Grayson was charged with “first degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and official misconduct.”
Meanwhile, Grayson’s attorney, Dan Fultz, has remained silent since the body camera footage was released and the officer pleaded not guilty last week.
The video shows Grayson and another officer repeatedly knocking on Massey’s door until she opens it. The second officer next to him has not been identified by police.
“Don’t hurt me,” Massey told Grayson.
“Why would I hurt you? You called us,” Grayson replied.
The officer told Massey that she did not see anyone in the area of the home and asked if she needed any other assistance. In response to Grayson’s second question about Massey’s mental condition, she said she was mentally fine.
“Love you all, thank you,” Massey said as he closed the door.
But officers then questioned her about a black SUV with a broken window parked in the driveway of her home, which she claimed belonged to someone else and had been taken there.
The officers then decided to enter Massey’s home and ask her name so they could “make their escape.” [her] hair.”
Soon after, Massey nervously walked over to the stove and grabbed a pot of boiling water from the stove. When he took the pot off the stove, things got heated.
Massey: Where are you going?
Grayson: “Stay away from the hot, steaming water…”
Massey: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus…”
Massey turned around with the pot of water in his hand and took a single step toward the officers, remaining in the kitchen.
Grayson: “Don’t do that or I swear I’ll shoot you in the face.”
Massey: “Okay, sorry!”
The second deputy also drew his gun.
Grayson: “Drop that damn pot!”
Three gunshots can be heard while Deputy Grayson yells at Massey to put the pot down. Massey falls behind the kitchen counter and disappears from view on the body camera footage, but subsequent footage shows she dropped the pot as she ducked.
Grayson looks around, his adrenaline slowly waning as he realizes what’s happened.
Grayson: “Damn it!!”
Police immediately called paramedics, and the unidentified officer told Grayson that his police body camera was on the whole time. The officer asked Grayson if he should bring a medical kit.
Grayson: No, the headshots are already done… you go get them. [a medical aid kit]but it’s a headshot.”
“Well, I ain’t gonna get hot water on my fucking head,” Grayson continues, “and look, we got some fucking water on our feet.”
He then went to get a medical kit and said, “So, there’s not much we can do.”
“At least we can stop the bleeding,” the second deputy sheriff said.
He then went into the kitchen, found a towel, and applied it to the wound in Massey’s head. Massey is not seen on the video as she falls to the ground, but a large pool of blood can still be seen near her head and she can be heard screaming for air.
Massey was taken to a hospital where he was eventually pronounced dead, state police said.
Police concluded in an internal investigation that “Grayson was right to point his gun at Massey to induce him to comply,” but also concluded that the shot was unjustified because Grayson had moved toward Massey and was in a position “where he could have sustained injury.”
Additionally, a review of the state police investigation, including body camera evidence, “does not support a conclusion that Deputy Shawn Grayson was justified in using deadly force,” the Sangamon County state’s attorney said.
According to a statement issued last week by Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, Grayson was fired later this month after it was apparent he “did not act in accordance with his training or in accordance with department standards,” Campbell added.
In a statement posted to Facebook on Monday, Campbell said Grayson’s “unjust and reckless decisions” were the cause of Massey’s death.
“Grayson had other options and should have taken advantage of them,” Campbell continued. “His actions were inexcusable and contrary to our agency’s values and training. He will now face justice through the criminal justice system and will never again work in law enforcement.”
The sheriff went on to say Ms Massey had “lost her life needlessly” and that her relatives should be given an explanation.
Attorney Ben Crump, who is legally representing Massey’s family, weighed in at a press conference on Monday on whether race played a role in the tragic shooting.
“That question lingers in our community because so many of us watched that video and said, ‘If it had been a white woman, he wouldn’t have done this,'” Crump said.
Still, other officers took to social media platforms to weigh in, explaining that Massey’s statement “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus” while holding a pot of boiling water would have frightened many officers. Massey appeared to be saying he was going to pour the boiling water over the officer’s face and body, as happens during baptisms, or as Catholic priests do when a demon-possessed person takes possession of their body in horror movies.
Grayson’s trial is scheduled for Aug. 26.Number.
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