The situation leading to Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson shooting Sonya Massey escalated quickly, as shown in body camera footage released on Monday.
The 36-minute video shows Grayson, who has been charged with Massey’s murder, saying, “I can’t take hot boiling water to the f*ing face” after firing three shots. Massey had a pot of water from her stove.
Initially, Grayson did not have his body camera on, but another deputy with him did. When the other deputy said he was going to get his medical kit, Grayson responded, “No, a head shot dude, she’s done.” Later, Grayson called Massey “f*ing crazy.”**
The Illinois State Police posted the video on their YouTube channel.
At Massey’s funeral on Friday, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the video would “shock the conscience of America” similar to the impact of Emmett Till’s lynching photos. Crump compared the video to the deaths of Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times by police in Chicago, and George Floyd, who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.
“It is that senseless, that unnecessary, that unjustifiable, that unconstitutional,” Crump said. “This video is tragic in every sense.”
Grayson was arraigned in Sangamon County Court on Thursday. Massey had called the police early in the morning about a possible intruder. Grayson, who had been with the sheriff’s department since May 2023, was fired by Sheriff Jack Campbell on Wednesday. Before joining Sangamon County, Grayson worked for the Logan County Sheriff’s Office.
An expert on “use of force” reviewed the footage and concluded that Grayson was not justified in using deadly force.
The case has gained international attention and sparked numerous protests, including one with about 200 people at the Springfield NAACP Building on Wednesday.
In a statement, Sheriff Campbell said Grayson “did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards” and that his actions “do not reflect the values and training of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office or law enforcement as a whole.”