“All too often, when we see injustices, both great and small, we think, ‘That’s terrible,’ but we do nothing. We say nothing. We let other people fight their own battles. We remain silent because silence is easier... When we say nothing, when we do nothing, we are consenting to these trespasses against us.” — Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist
For the last few weeks, advocates and organizers have organized protests, healing circles, press conferences, voter registration, motorcycle cruises, rallies and other advocacy and activism events to bring awareness and get active. The community moves without straightforward answers, without transparency and with still many questions.
The community of Springfield also witnessed a monumental event conducted by our judicial system that, in less than two weeks, indicted a former deputy and set a grand jury. The community echoes the words of civil rights attorney Ben Crump: “Charges are not enough!”
The Massey family, organizations, elected officials and community members call for a transparent and justice-informed process. Our community demands that those who have answers bring clarity and accountability to officials and one another. Together, we must devise actionable solutions on the local, state and national levels that set policies in place which will dismantle a hostile and violent law enforcement culture, harmful hiring practices, and continued modern-day lynching of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) globally.
Say their names:
Tamir Rice
Trayvon Martin
Sandra Bland
Mike Brown
George Floyd
Sonya Massey … egregiously the list goes on.
“As of Dec. 18, 282 Black people were killed by the police in the United States in 2023. This compares to 201 Hispanic people and 495 white people. The rate of police shootings of Black Americans is much higher than any other ethnicity, at 5.9 per million people. This rate stands at 2.5 per million for Hispanic people and 2.3 per million for white people.” – Published by Statista Research Department, July 5, 2024.
We call for answers. Below are questions that have not been answered regarding the killing of Ms. Sonya Lynaye Massey and the hiring of former deputy Sean Grayson.
1. What were Sean Grayson’s reasons for leaving for other county employment after such short periods of time (Pawnee, Kincaid, Virden, Auburn and Logan)? Why was a thorough hiring process and background check not completed and documented by the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office?
2. Why was the statement of self-inflicted brought up on the call to dispatch? Why did the call seem unclear?
3. Why is the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office not in compliance with the Supreme Court-mandated Brady List (1963)?
4. In the call for transparency, why is the second officer's name still officially concealed? What, if any, disciplinary actions were taken, including training, for the second officer? What charges are now considered for the second officer by the state attorney’s office?
5. Why weren’t the full details of Massey’s shooting disclosed to the family within hours of being notified of her death?
6. What are the full hiring protocols and training taken by Sangamon County deputies? Does this protocol include removal of tattoos signifying racial hate groups or removal from the department if such tattoos are acquired after hiring?
7. Does the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office require mental health case worker assistance on mental health calls? If not, why?
8. How many CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) training hours are required to be a sheriff’s deputy, as a significant number of emergency calls need deescalation? Have all sheriff’s deputies received the recommended 40 CIT training hours? How often must officers recertify?
For every problem, there is a solution. The calls to action to pass legislation and policies around law enforcement practices are a matter of life and death. In that same breath, we ask that our leaders and decision-makers sign bills and ordinances into law and adopt effective solutions to stop taking the last breath of numerous women, children, and Black, Indigenous and people of color by hostile attitudes, violent actions and harmful practices and procedures.
We offer the following solutions:
● We call on the U.S. Department of Justice to fully investigate the Sangamon County Sheriff's Department and former deputy Sean Grayson.
● We call for legislative solutions, such as the passing of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
● We call for the mandatory submission of law enforcement names to the statewide Brady list, in compliance with Supreme Court ruling(s).
● We call for complete nullification of qualified immunity for members of law enforcement.
● Amendment of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, commonly known as the SAFE-T Act, to include policies on decertification of law enforcement, including involvement in hate groups and terminations in certain circumstances which qualify for decertification.
● We call for any law enforcement officers who have been terminated or who have resigned from any law enforcement agency twice within two years to be put on a statewide registry (open to the public), including the reason for termination and resignation.
● We call for the suspension of state funding for law enforcement agencies that are not in compliance with federal, state and local mandates.
● We call for the establishment of a Community Deputy Review Oversight Commission which includes at least 51% community members with no history of employment in law enforcement.
● We call for mandatory biannual emotional intelligence and racial anti-bias training for all law enforcement officers.
Join us at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Sangamon County Board meeting, which has been moved to the BOS Center. We will unite in solidarity with organizations and community members as they address the Sangamon County Board. If you are interested in speaking, sign up by 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12, by using this link:
This article was submitted in collaboration with Faith Coalition for the Common Good; Black Lives Matter Springfield; The Springfield Black Aldermanic Caucus - Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory, Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams and Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase; District 186 School Board member Erica Austin; Sangamon County Board member Gina Lathan; Dr. Lesa Johnson, UIS/Unveiling Black Springfield; Ken Page; One In A Million, Inc.; Juneteenth Inc.; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Springfield Branch President Austin Randolph; and the family of Ms. Sonya Lynaye Massey.
