The Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office will release body-worn camera footage on Monday of an Illinois deputy shooting a Black woman after she called 911 to report an intruder.
The footage will be released just days after former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, 30, was arraigned in Sangamon County Court on three counts of first-degree murder, as well as one count of aggravated battery with a firearm and another of official misconduct, according to court records. The release of the footage had been postponed from 10 a.m. Monday.
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Grayson’s arraignment came a few weeks after 36-year-old Sonya Massey was shot and killed in her Springfield home by Grayson after calling police to report an intruder. Grayson pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Massey’s family has hired renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who said at Massey’s funeral on Friday that the footage would show a crime comparable to the lynching of Chicago teenager Emmett Till in Mississippi, the Chicago police shooting of Laquan McDonald, and the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
In the early hours of July 6, Grayson and another deputy responded to Massey’s house after she had called 911 about a prowler, police previously said (though they didn’t name Grayson or Massey at the time). Grayson pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot Massey, yelling at her to put down a pot of boiling water after she had calmly allowed them to enter her home, according to court documents. He then fired the gun three times, striking Massey once. Massey was unarmed. While Grayson hadn’t activated his body-worn camera until after he fired the gun, the other deputy had his camera on the entire time.
That deputy, whose name has not been revealed, said he was going to get a medical kit from his vehicle. But Grayson told him not to because Massey’s injuries were so severe, according to the documents. The other deputy rendered aid to Massey until an ambulance arrived. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said in a Facebook post on July 8 that preliminary findings of an autopsy reveal that Massey died from a gunshot wound.
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Illinois State Police investigated the incident, and Grayson was later terminated from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, the office announced Wednesday. The office also apologized to Massey’s family and friends, calling the shooting a “tragic incident.”
“It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. “The actions taken by Deputy Grayson do not reflect the values and training of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office or law enforcement as a whole.”
Massey’s funeral was held on Friday at Ruby Funeral Services and Chapel in Springfield.
“Today is about peace, today is about my big sister. It’s not about that man that’s gonna rot in jail, it’s about my big sister,” Massey’s younger sister, Breeanna Toles, said at the service.
Massey’s family watched the body cam footage for the first time on Wednesday. Massey’s death has gained national attention and sparked protests in Springfield. On Wednesday, about 200 people gathered at the Springfield NAACP building to express solidarity with Massey and her family.
Grayson was remanded to the custody of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office while awaiting trial, according to court records. His next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26.
Crump will be holding a press conference after the footage is released Monday at 4:45 EST.
This is a developing news story.
Massey’s family has hired renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump.