Within the early morning of July 6, Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old resident of Springfield, Illinois, known as 911 to report somebody wandering into her residence. Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson and one other deputy responded round 1:50 a.m., and a half-hour later Grayson shot Massey within the face. His justification for utilizing lethal power was so unbelievable that he was fired and fired final week. charged First diploma homicide.
Law enforcement recorder video The data launched Monday sheds mild on the circumstances of the taking pictures, which President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris publicly condemned this week. After looking out the home and discovering no intruder, Grayson and his colleagues knocked repeatedly on Massey’s door. It took her a second to react and clarify that she was getting dressed. Her expression was calm, however her conduct was unusual. “Please do not damage me,” she mentioned after opening the door. She mentioned she heard “somebody exterior my home,” including, “Please God, please God,” as she checked out her telephone.
Grayson defined that he and one other deputy noticed no signal of the prowler. “God bless, God bless,” Messi mentioned. “I am asking for assist… God, God. I do not know what to do… I heard somebody exterior.” Grayson reiterated that nobody was there, and he gave the impression to be about to go away, asking, “What else do I’ve? Can I do it for you?” Then he requested: “Are you in good spirits?” Messi, in line with independent “Reportedly mentally in poor health,” say “sure” and point out “my medicine.”
Grayson requested Macy for her ID and adopted her into the house as she went to get it. One other officer additionally entered the home and regarded round, maybe persevering with to search for the intruder. Macy sat on the sofa in the lounge, grabbed her pockets, and mentioned absently, “I’ve some papers.” Grayson tried to get her to deal with getting her ID. “All I would like is your title,” he mentioned, “so we are able to get out of right here…only a driver’s license and I can get out of your approach.”
Then issues took an odd flip. Grayson pointed to a pot of boiling water on the kitchen range subsequent to the lounge and mentioned, “We do not want a fireplace right here.” Macy responded by strolling into the kitchen and taking the pot off the range. Macy was in the lounge, on the opposite facet of the kitchen counter, and apparently took a step again as Macy mentioned, “The place are you going?” Grayson laughed and talked about “steaming water,” whereas Macy humorously identified He needed to “get away from the steaming water.” After putting the pot on the counter, Macy mentioned quietly however unusually, “I blame you within the title of Jesus.” She repeated the phrases after Grayson mentioned, “What?”
At this second, Grayson’s curiosity instantly turned to panic. “You higher not fucking try this,” he mentioned, placing his hand on the gun. “I swear to God, I will shoot you within the fucking face.” He then pulled out the gun and pointed it at Messi, who flinched and picked up the can once more. “Okay, I am sorry,” she mentioned, ducking behind the counter, nonetheless holding the pot. “Throw your fucking pot away!” Grayson yelled. Seconds later, Grayson fired three rounds, one among which hit Messi within the head.
After the taking pictures, one other officer mentioned, “I will get my package,” which means he supposed to offer medical help. “No, it is a headshot, man,” Grayson replied. “She’s accomplished. You possibly can go get it, however it’s a shot within the head. Rattling it. Rattling it. I am not going to place boiling water on my fucking head. It went proper to our fucking toes too. Rattling it. …What else can we do? “Ought to we do that?” I am not going to throw scalding water in your fucking face, it is already upon us. “
When different officers arrived, Grayson advised one of many officers: “She got here as much as me with boiling water… She mentioned she was going to rebuke me within the title of Jesus after which got here to me.” [me] Use boiling water.
Grayson later reiterated to investigators that he was defending himself from the kettle. However as First Assistant State’s Legal professional Mary Rodgers famous in a July 18 report petition To disclaim Grayson’s pretrial launch, “the pot was situated in one other room of the house separated by a big counter” whereas Grayson “remained in the lounge space.” Nevertheless, “regardless of the gap and relative concealment,” Grayson “pulled out his 9 mm firearm as an alternative of the much less deadly Taser on his responsibility vest and threatened to thrust it into Ms. Macy’s face.” shot.
Rogers mentioned Macy “put his palms up and mentioned ‘I am sorry’ whereas ducking behind the counter to separate her from the deputy.” Macy “nonetheless had his gun drawn and started to shut the hole between him and Ms. Macy.” , and “yelled at Ms. Macy to place the pot down.” He “then fired within the route of Ms. Macy, hanging her within the face.”
Rogers famous {that a} use-of-force knowledgeable consulted by Illinois State Police throughout their investigation of the taking pictures concluded that Grayson’s “use of lethal power was unjustified.” The knowledgeable “likened the state of affairs to a police officer deliberately and unnecessarily putting himself in entrance of a transferring automobile after which justifying using power out of concern of being hit.”
As a result of Macy is black and Grayson is white, the incident prompted feedback about racial bias in policing. “Sonia Massey, a beloved mom, buddy, daughter and younger black girl, ought to be alive right this moment,” Biden mentioned. explain on Monday. “Sonia known as the police as a result of she was nervous a few potential intruder. After we ask for assist, all of us – irrespective of who we’re or the place we reside – ought to have the opportunity to take action with out fearing for our lives .Sonia’s loss of life within the palms of a responding police officer reminds us that Black People typically face fears for his or her security that the remainder of us do not.
The subsequent day, 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Harris equally prompt Grayson would have dealt with the state of affairs in another way if Macy have been white. ‘Sonia Macy ought to be protected,’ Harris explain in a written assertion. “After she requested police for assist, she was killed in her residence by an officer sworn to guard and serve… Our ideas are additionally with communities throughout the nation whose requires assist are sometimes met with skepticism, mistrust, and even violence.” .
Even with out speculating on why precisely Grayson believed Messi posed a risk that warranted a deadly response, anybody watching the physique digicam footage can see that his notion did not match actuality. So far as the hazard from the jug of water was involved, it was not a mortal risk and he might neutralize it with out firing a gun. As an alternative, as Rodgers noticed, he amplified the risk by approaching Messi together with his gun drawn when he might have stored a protected distance.
underneath illinois law“an individual is responsible of first-degree homicide when, with out lawful justification, she or he kills an individual” when “she or he intends to kill the particular person or trigger nice bodily hurt to the particular person” and “is aware of that the act will trigger that particular person’s loss of life,” or “understanding that such conduct was extra seemingly than to not trigger that particular person’s loss of life or nice bodily hurt.” charged aggravated battery and official misconduct, face Sentenced to 45 years to life in jail.
Grayson’s mindless escalation of his encounter with Massey raises the query of how somebody with such poor judgment might have been employed by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Workplace, the place he has been working for a bit of over a yr . Grayson “labored for six completely different regulation enforcement businesses over the previous 4 years,” WGN9 Report. His employment document consists of lower than a yr with the Auburn, Illinois, Police Division, one yr with the Logan County Sheriff’s Workplace, and transient stints with the Virden, Kinkaid and Pawnee Police Departments.
This employment expertise is not the one pink flag. WGN experiences: “Grayson has been arrested twice for Class A misdemeanor DUI, as soon as in 2015 and as soon as in 2016.” “There have been all these pink flags,” mentioned James Wilburn, Macy’s father. “However they nonetheless appointed him to the Home of Representatives. [Sangamon] county.
The case additionally highlights the worth of physique digicam video. If Grayson’s account of what occurred is correct, the movie will bear it out. However as a result of the video contradicts his declare that Messi “rushed me with boiling water,” he might be held accountable for the unprovoked use of lethal power which may in any other case have been justified.
appendix: Self-defense lawyer Andrew Blanca Citation list Grayson’s body-worn digicam captured a number of seconds of silent video, which he activated instantly earlier than taking pictures Macy. Within the picture, she stood up, lifted the pot, and spilled the water, which landed on the ground between her and Grayson. However that was after Grayson pointed a gun at her and threatened to shoot her within the face. His choice to method her as an alternative of maintaining his distance, and his choice to make use of a gun as an alternative of a Taser, nonetheless appear unreasonable.
“Sonia Massey misplaced her life resulting from unreasonable and reckless selections made by former Deputy Sean Grayson,” mentioned Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell. explain on Monday. “Grayson had different choices that he ought to have used. His actions have been inexcusable and don’t mirror the values or coaching of our workplace.”
