Officials release video of officer fatally shooting Sonya Massey in her home after she called 911
Illinois officials and President Joe Biden spoke after bodycam video of the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey was released by Illinois State Police Monday afternoon. The video shows the chaotic scene after a sheriff's deputy shot Massey in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water in her home.
Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He is being held in the Sangamon County Jail while he awaits trial.
"(The video) is going to shock the conscience of America. It is that senseless, that unnecessary, that unjustifiable, that unconstitutional," civil rights attorney Ben Crump said. "This sheriff's deputy was twice as large as Sonya. Why would you have to use a gun to shoot her in the head?"
Authorities said Massey, who is Black, called 911 in the early morning hours on Saturday, July 6, to report a suspected prowler outside her house in Springfield, Illinois.
Timeline of bodycam footage of Sonya Massey's fatal shooting
First, body cam video shows the deputies searching Massey's property and taking special interest in a car with broken windows. The deputies knock at least five times and Massey comes to the door. (Warning: Linked video contains violent and sensitive content.)
Massey mumbles something to Grayson, who responds: "Why would we hurt you? You called us."
Grayson, who is White, talks further to Massey at her door and tells her nobody was found near her house. The other deputy's body cam is the one running.
This conversation wraps up about a minute later, as the deputies ask more about the car.
The deputy whose body camera is running is then seen examining the car in Massey's driveway as fireworks go off in the distance that July 4th weekend. That second deputy then enters the house, with Grayson already inside.
In the house, Massey is first seen sitting on her couch, volunteering to give the deputies some paperwork and looking for her ID. Grayson then notices a pot on the stove and gives Massey permission to move it, saying they don't need a fire in the house.
The video then shows Massey turning off the flame on the stove and picking up the pot.
"Where are you going?" Massey is heard saying.
"Away from your hot, steaming water," Grayson says.
"Away from my hot steaming water?" Massey seems to say in the video. "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."
"You'd better f***ing not. I swear to God, I'll f***ing shoot you right in your f***ing face," Grayson says.
He then raises his gun, described as a 9mm pistol, and yells at Massey to "drop the f***ing pot!"
Massey is seen apologizing and ducking for cover, at which point Grayson shoots her, prosecutors said. Three shots are heard in the video.
In the video, Massey may be holding the pot of water above her head right before the shots are fired.
Grayson did not activate his body camera until after firing the shots, Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser contends. His body camera video—seen at the end of the clip released by state police—shows his vantage point as he raises his weapon.
After the shooting, Grayson allegedly advised his partner not to give medical aid to Massey because of the severity of her injuries, according to court documents detailing the incident.
On the body cam video after the shooting, Grayson is heard saying to the other deputy: "What else can we do? I'm not taking a pot of boiling water to the f***ing face, and it already reached us." Grayson then leaves to get his med kit, as the other officer says they can at least try to stop Massey's bleeding.
The other deputy is then seen tending to Massey. He provided emergency assistance and stayed with Massey until medical professionals arrived.
As the other deputy provides aid, Grayson is heard talking to someone out of view of the camera, saying he had shot Massey.
"She had boiling water and came at me with boiling water," he is heard saying. "She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water."
Attorney: Video shows Massey did not pose reasonable threat of harm
Attorney Craig Futterman, founder of the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project at the University of Chicago, reviewed the fatal moments as documented on the body cam video.
"Part of what's immediately horrifying is that is a situation that just didn't need to happen," he said.
He said Grayson's defense will probably be that he felt threatened for his life over the hot pot of water, but it has to be reasonable threat. Futterman said did not see evidence of any reasonable threat.
"First, I saw a woman who was clearly a little bit out of sorts, but didn't look, and didn't give off an appearance to any reasonable that she posed a threat of harm," Futterman said. "Would any reasonable officer in that situation reasonably believe that their life is threatened, such as they would take out their gun and point it at her and threaten her life? It's a clear no."
In fact, Futterman said, police officers are trained not to let people go into their kitchens for a reason.
"If you feel that someone is potentially threatening, where is the last place you tell them or allow them to go? The kitchen—because guess what's in the kitchen," Futterman said.
Unlike the front area of the house where Grayson was seen talking to Massey, "In the kitchen, you have knives. You have pans," Futterman said.
Futterman said the event with the pot of water did not even warrant the use of a Taser—let alone a gun.
"The officer immediately grabbed his gun, and it escalated it went from zero to 100 like that," he said.
On Monday afternoon, Massey's father, James Wilburn, talked about seeing the video of what happened.
"I kind of feel watching, it's a dream; I'm going to wake up. But I just don't know. I don't know what to say," said James Wilburn. "I saw this happen in the George Floyd matter. I saw this happen in the Breonna Taylor matter, and I had to say to God, 'Why me? Why my child?'"
Wilburn said he is especially appalled at what happened given his own former profession.
"Some of my best friends are in law enforcement. I'm former law enforcement," he said, "so it's embarrassing."
In a timeline displayed before the body cam video, state police said they were notified of the shooting within an hour. The body cam footage was presented to a grand jury in Sangamon County on Wednesday, July 17, and the grand jury returned an indictment against Grayson that same day, prosecutors said.
An arrest warrant was also issued for Grayson this past Wednesday, and he was taken into custody.
Grayson was also fired last week.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul released this statement:
"The body camera footage is horrific, and I offer my deepest sympathy to Sonya Massey's family as they relive a moment no family should experience. As the community reacts to the release of the footage, I urge calm as this matter works its way through the criminal justice system.
"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."
Mr. Biden, who on Sunday announced he would not seek reelection in the 2024 presidential race, issued the following statement after the release of the bodycam:
"Sonya Massey, a beloved mother, friend, daughter, and young Black woman, should be alive today. Sonya called the police because she was concerned about a potential intruder. When we call for help, all of us as Americans – regardless of who we are or where we live – should be able to do so without fearing for our lives. Sonya's death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.
"Sonya'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.
"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."
