Illinois police release bodycam video of fatal shooting of Black woman in her home
Originally Published: 22 JUL 24 15:10 ET
Updated: 23 JUL 24 04:18 ET
By Eric Levenson, Jillian Sykes and Brad Parks, CNN
(CNN) — Body-camera footage showing the fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who had called 911 for help, was released Monday in a case that has led to murder charges against a deputy.
The 36-minute video released via the Illinois State Police includes body-camera footage from each of the two Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies who responded to Massey’s house after midnight on July 6 after Massey called 911 to report a possible “prowler” at her home in Springfield, according to a court document filed by prosecutors.
In the footage, deputy Sean Grayson and another deputy speak calmly with Massey in her home when she goes to the stove to turn off a pot of boiling water. She then picks up the pot and the other deputy steps back, “away from your hot steaming water,” he says.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she says in response.
“Huh?” the deputy says.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she repeats.
“You better f**king not or I swear to God I’ll f**king shoot you in the f**king face,” Grayson says.
He then draws his firearm and points it at her, and she ducks and says, “I’m sorry” while lifting the pot, the video shows.
“Drop the f**king pot!” both deputies yell.
Three shots are heard. After a few seconds of silence, one deputy says “shots fired” and calls for emergency medical services.
“Dude, I’m not taking f**king boiling water to the f**king head. And look, it came right to our feet, too,” Grayson says.
Minutes after the shooting, Grayson speaks to another law enforcement figure. “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.”
CNN has sought comment from Grayson’s attorney.
The release of the video comes about two weeks after the fatal shooting and just days after Grayson was charged in her death.
Grayson, 30, was indicted by a grand jury last week on three counts of first-degree murder and one count each of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He has entered a not guilty plea and was denied pretrial release, according to court records.
Massey is one of a number of Black women who have been killed by police in their own homes in recent years, including Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson. In a news conference Monday afternoon, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Massey’s family, connected her death to other cases of police violence against Black people across the US.
“Until we get justice for Sonya Massey, we rebuke this discriminatory criminal justice system in the name of Jesus,” he said.
Video shows lead-up and aftermath
Grayson did not activate his body camera until after he fatally shot Massey, according to charging documents. The other deputy had activated his body camera when he first arrived at the scene, the documents state.
According to footage from the other deputy’s body camera, the incident began with the deputies walking around Massey’s yard and finding a vehicle with broken windows. They then knock on the door and speak with her, and she struggles to understand and answer some questions about the vehicle and about herself.
As they speak in her living room, the deputies note the pot on the lit stove and one says, “we don’t need a fire while we’re here.” Massey gets up and turns off the stove and the shooting then follows.
Immediately after the shooting, the video records Grayson telling his partner Massey would not need medical help.
The other deputy says he’s going to get a medical kit to help, but Grayson responds, “Nah, she’s done. You can go get it but that’s a headshot.”
Grayson later goes to his vehicle to get his own medical supplies. When he gets back to the house, he asks if there’s anything he can do, but is told no.
“All right, I’m not even gonna waste my med stuff then,” Grayson says.
Next, Grayson leaves the house and speaks to a group of law enforcement officers outside. “Yeah I’m good, this f**king b*tch is crazy,” he says, according to the footage.
In the news conference Monday, along with members of her family, Crump said Massey had mental health challenges but was not aggressive toward the deputies.
“She needed a helping hand,” he said. “She didn’t need a bullet to the face.”
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, said he initially received conflicting information from law enforcement.
“I was under the impression that a prowler had broken in and killed my baby. Never did they say that it was a deputy-involved shooting until my brother read it on the internet,” Wilburn said at the news conference.
“We were led to believe that the intruder – or someone from the neighborhood – may have killed her. We were absolutely shocked to find out that it was a deputy who shot her,” Wilburn told CNN’s Laura Coates on Monday night.
“You’re used to having ‘the talk’ with boys, but now I guess we have to talk to our girls about … their interactions with the police,” Wilburn said.
Wilburn said that his daughter’s death had left him heartbroken.
“Sonya was a daddy’s girl. She never ended a conversation – whether by text or telephone or in person – without saying, ‘Daddy, I love you.’ And that’s the last message I have from my daughter that’s saved on my voicemail, was ‘Daddy, I love you’,” he said.
Crump told Laura Coates that he expected the release of the video showing the “heinous killing of this innocent woman” to galvanize the community.
“It’s so senseless. I mean, it is disturbing. This video is reminiscent in the last presidential cycle in 2020 when the George Floyd video, you know, encouraged our community to act.
“And in this 2024 election I believe this Sonya Massey video is going to encourage our community to act – because Sonya Massey deserved better than this,” Crump said.
Officials criticize deputy’s actions
Since the shooting, local and state officials have criticized the deputy’s actions as an unjustified use of deadly force.
A review of the Illinois State Police investigation into the shooting “does not support a finding that … Grayson was justified in his use of deadly force,” the state’s attorney for the county, John Milhiser, said in a July 17 news release.
In a court document filed by the state last week, prosecutors said a “use-of-force” expert had reviewed the body-camera footage and concluded the use of deadly force was not justified.
“(The expert) likened the scenario to an officer intentionally and unnecessarily putting himself in front of a moving vehicle and then justifying use of force because of fear of being struck,” the prosecutors wrote.
The sheriff’s office said it has fired Grayson. “It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards,” the office said.
CNN experts offered similar analysis.
“Effective policing comes down to good judgment in highly stressful situations,” said Josh Campbell, CNN security correspondent and former federal agent. “Although being doused with scalding water could warrant the use of deadly force by an officer to stop a threat, in this video we certainly don’t see officers attempting alternative options, such as moving away and creating distance between themselves and Massey.”
“There were a number of ways to avoid this starting with better tactics from the outset,” said CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller, “but even if you forgive that and limit the observations to the last few seconds, there were still options of a calmer dialogue, more distance between the subject and them, a taser rather than a firearm.”
Grayson had worked at six different law enforcement agencies in Illinois since 2020, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.
He began working part-time at the Pawnee Police Department in August 2020, then moved to the Kincaid and Virden police departments, before taking up full-time work with the Auburn Police Department then the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and – in May 2023 – Sangamon County.
It is unclear why Grayson changed jobs so frequently and CNN has reached out to the other law enforcement agencies for more information.
The training and standards board records show his Law Enforcement Certification has since been suspended.
A petition calling for an investigation into why Sangamon County hired Grayson was circulated at a march and barbecue in Springfield on Monday night, CNN affiliate WICS reported.
Several hundred people attended the gathering in honor of Massey, WICS said.
“It was very powerful just seeing all of the people come out from our community. Different ages, different races, different sexual orientations all coming together for one cause, which is to get justice for Sonya Massey,” organizer Tiara Standage told WICS.
President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday that Massey’s family “deserves justice.”
“I am heartbroken for her children and her entire family as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss. Jill and I mourn with the rest of the country and our prayers are with Sonya’s family, loved ones, and community during this devastating time,” Biden said in a written statement.
“I commend the swift actions that were taken by the Springfield state’s attorney’s office. While we wait for the case to be prosecuted, let us pray to comfort the grieving. Congress must pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act now. Our fundamental commitment to justice is at stake,” the president added.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a statement Monday saying the footage was “horrific” and offering his sympathy to Massey’s family.
“As the community reacts to the release of the footage, I urge calm as this matter works its way through the criminal justice system,” he said.
“In Illinois we have made sure that the law mandates independent investigations after officer involved shootings. In this matter it appears that the investigation by the Illinois State Police and the subsequent referral to the Sangamon County state’s attorney’s office have complied with the letter and spirit of the law by providing the appropriate transparency and moving toward accountability,” Raoul added.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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