Bodycam footage shows the moment Illinois officer Sean Grayson fatally shot Sonya Massey in her home after she called police in fear of a home intruder.
A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting Sonya Massey in her home as he responded to her 911 call reporting a prowler outside her home.
Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy, received the maximum possible sentence for the July 2024 shooting.
Massey’s killing outraged community members and renewed questions of how law enforcement officers should be both vetted and trained to handle people experiencing mental illness.
Court records show Grayson, 31, who is white, has remained incarcerated since he was convicted in October of second-degree murder of Massey, who was black.
During the hearing, Grayson apologised to Massey’s family for the pain he caused.
“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” Grayson said, according to the Associated Press.
“I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”
Outside the courtroom, Massey’s family members thanked the community for its support and praised the efforts of prosecutors, while noting they viewed the sentence as insufficient.
The family had sought first-degree murder charges, which could have sent Grayson to prison for life.
“I’m grateful that we got the maximum sentence that we could,” said Massey’s daughter, Summer.
“But 20 years is not enough.”
Sangamon County Judge Ryan Cadigan on Thursday rejected Grayson’s motion for a new trial, according to court records.
Family said Massey, a 36-year-old mother of two, had struggled with mental health issues long before the morning of July 6 when she dialled 911 to report someone was prowling outside her Springfield home.
Grayson, one of two deputies who responded, shot Massey in her home, later saying he feared for his life.
Body-camera footage showed Grayson and the other deputy speaking to Massey in her home as she heated a pot of water on the stove. Grayson asked Massey to take the pot off the burner, and she complied, the footage shows. As she did so, Grayson backed away and said he was moving to avoid “your hot, steaming water”. Massey replied, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
In a narrative of the July 6 shooting filed with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department, Grayson said he believed Massey was making a threat to kill him. Grayson would claim he feared “great bodily harm or death” because she had a pot of boiling water.
According to the footage, Grayson drew his gun and threatened to shoot Massey in the face as she moved the pot of water, despite the video showing he was some distance from her.
Massey said, “Okay, I’m sorry,” and ducked behind a set of cabinets. Grayson approached Massey and fired three times, hitting her once in the face.
Grayson defended the shooting immediately afterwards to his partner and said he feared having “hot boiling water” thrown at him, according to video. He did not try to help Massey, prosecutors said.
Massey’s death caused a national uproar in the United States and drew criticism from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D), President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris. The shooting came four years after the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd sparked nationwide civil unrest over race and policing.
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell stepped down a month after the shooting following pressure from leaders including Pritzker, who criticised the sheriff’s office for hiring Grayson despite past convictions for driving under the influence and disciplinary issues at previous law enforcement agencies.
In July, Massey’s family received a US$10 million ($16.53m) wrongful death settlement from Sangamon County.
Shortly after the settlement, Pritzker signed a police reform law named for Massey that created stricter hiring practices for law enforcement across Illinois. The law requires law enforcement to thoroughly investigate an applicant’s background, especially past discipline or misconduct history with other departments, before hiring that person.
Last year, the Justice Department announced an agreement with Sangamon County and the sheriff’s office to develop a “mobile crisis team programme” with behavioural health staff members who will respond to people in mental health crises, resolving an investigation for racial discrimination it launched after the shooting of Massey. The Justice Department did not find that the county or sheriff’s office acted in a discriminatory way, it said.
Less than a day before Massey was shot, her mother, Donna Massey, had called 911 seeking help. The elder Massey said her daughter was experiencing a mental breakdown and pleaded with the dispatcher to send officers who wouldn’t harm her daughter.
“Thank you, and please don’t send no combative policemen that are prejudiced – please,” Donna Massey said, according to released recordings of the call.
“They’re scary. I’m scared of the police,” Donna Massey said.
The dispatcher assured Massey’s mother there was nothing to fear.
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