Bodycam video shows Sonya Massey’s last minutes, deputy’s coarse
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[July 23, 2024]
BETH HUNDSDORFER
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
Sonya Massey’s last words were: "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,”
followed by “I’m sorry,” as Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean
Grayson put his hand on his 9 mm pistol and threatened to shoot her in
the face.
Seconds later, he did.
Grayson, 30, who is white, was charged last week on counts of
first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official
misconduct for the fatal shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman.
In a video released by Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser,
the July 6 shooting of Massey in her home near Springfield shows the
events that unfolded at about 12:50 a.m. on July 6.
Grayson and an unidentified Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at
the home in response to a 911 call made by Massey reporting a prowler.
As the other officer checked the outside of the home, Grayson, who had
not turned his body camera on, can be heard knocking insistently at
Massey’s door.
After a few minutes, Massey responds she is coming.
“Are you coming to the door or not? All right. Hurry up!” Grayson said.
The encounter is mostly routine, although at times Massey seems
flustered or disoriented, telling the officers that she called them for
help.
“I heard someone outside,” she said.
On the video, Grayson and the other officer tell her that they didn’t
find anyone outside.

They seem prepared to leave when Grayson asks Massey about a vehicle
parked in the driveway with windows broken out. Massey tells Grayson
that the car is not hers. As the unidentified officer runs the plate,
Grayson goes inside with Massey.
Neighbors interviewed by Capitol News Illinois said Massey was
recovering from surgery and was involved in a dispute with another
neighbor who threw a brick through her car window.
Grayson asks for her identification. Massey proceeds to tell the
officers that she has paperwork for them.
She tells the officers she has water on the stove and asks if she can
take it off.
“We don’t need a fire in here,” Grayson said.
Massey moves a pot from the stove to a counter. Noticing that the
unidentified officer moved backward into the living room, she asks why
he was moving. He responds he was moving away from the hot water.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,”
she tells the officers.
Grayson, who is still in the living room separated from the kitchen by a
counter, puts his hand on his pistol and tells Massey, “You better not.
I swear to God, I’ll f---ing shoot you right in the f---ing face.”
Grayson then pulls his weapon and aims at Massey.
“Drop the f---ing pot! Drop the f---ing pot!”
Massey puts her hands up and ducks down.
Grayson, still on the other side of the counter, moves towards Massey
and fires three shots. One strikes Massey in the face.
The other officer, who has also drawn his gun, holsters his gun and
tells Grayson that he’s going to get his medical kit.
“She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a head shot,” Grayson tells
him.
“Let her just ... There’s nothing we can do,” he says later.
The unidentified officer begins to put pressure on Massey’s wound until
paramedics arrive. He notes Massey is still breathing.
In the video, Grayson can be heard telling another officer who just
arrived at the scene that Massey came at him with boiling water.

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Body camera video from a deputy accompanying deputy Sean Grayson
(left) shows Sonya Massey in the final minutes before she was shot
and killed. Grayson has been charged with first-degree murder.
(Footage from Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office)

As paramedics prepare to take Massey to the hospital, it’s clear from
the video that police don’t yet know the name of the woman shot on the
kitchen floor, one of the paramedics gives a first name: Sonya. And
offers that they had been there earlier in the day.
Grayson turned his body camera on immediately after the shooting. Body
cameras passively record and upload up to two minutes of video before
being activated.
In his video, Grayson is moving towards Massey, who has her hands in the
air with potholders. As he comes towards her, she appears to pick up the
pot again, but it looks upended. His arm partially obscures the shot.
Immediately following the shooting, Grayson is on the radio with
dispatch asking if they have any history of mental health calls
involving Massey.
On video, an officer asks Grayson if he’s ok.
“Yeah, I’m ok. This f---ing b---h is crazy,” he responded.
He told other officers at the scene, “She set it up on purpose, so it is
what it is,” he said, later adding he “didn’t have a choice.”
And that he was “barely” missed with boiling water.
Massey’s killing caught the attention of the White House on Monday.
President Joe Biden issued a statement commending Milhiser for acting
quickly to charge Grayson.
“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,” Biden said in the statement. “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.”
Black Lives Matter Springfield issued a warning regarding the video that
it called distressing and heartbreaking.
“We are encouraging our black community to take care of themselves
during this time. Please prioritize your mental and physical safety by
deciding whether or not to watch the footage,” the organization’s
statement said.
Milhiser released a statement with the 36-minute video.

“My prayers are with the family of Sonya Massey, and I commend the
Illinois State Police for conducting an expedited investigation into her
tragic death,” Milhiser said. “The State’s Attorney’s Office is
dedicated to pursuing justice through the prosecution of this case.”
Massey’s family has hired renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who
represented the families of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Breonna
Taylor.
Grayson had worked for the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department since
May 2023, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and
Standards Board. He was fired after the criminal charges were issued. He
remains detained at an undisclosed location until trial.
The work status of the deputy who was with Grayson at the time of the
shooting is unknown.
That unidentified officer’s body camera video ends with him standing at
the back of his car, breathing heavily. He wipes Massey’s blood from his
trembling hands, mumbles curses and takes short, irregular breaths.
Emergency lights line the residential neighborhood.
Another officer approaches and asked, “You good?”
“I’m fine.”
Capitol News Illinois is
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