Probe into shooting of Sonya Massey complete

The Illinois State Police investigation into the July 6 shooting death of Sonya Massey at the hands of Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies is complete.

And Massey’s family plans to meet with ISP officials and the Sangamon County state’s attorney the afternoon of July 17 at the Springfield NAACP building at 801 S. 11th St. to discuss the status of the case.

Those details were provided by multiple sources connected to the case on July 16 but who were not authorized to speak publicly.

An anonymous source also confirmed that Ben Crump, the prominent civil rights attorney who is representing Massey’s family, plans to be in Springfield on July 19 – the day of Massey’s funeral – and will speak to the news media after funeral services.

State’s Attorney John Milhiser and ISP officials declined comment when contacted by Illinois Times about the latest developments in the case. Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell didn’t return a phone call requesting comment.

The coming days could provide answers to the many questions about the circumstances surrounding Massey’s death.

Up to 100 people – many of them supporters of Black Lives Matter Springfield – protested the morning July 12 in front of the Sangamon County Courthouse. Smaller numbers of people continued to protest July 15 and 16.

Protestors called upon the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department and ISP to release video footage from body-worn cameras and provide more details of what led to Massey’s death.

The protestors also called for the deputies to be disciplined and potentially charged with crimes in connection with the incident.
Massey, 36, a single mother of two teenagers, died from a single bullet wound to the head that was sustained at her home in the 2800 block of Hoover Avenue in unincorporated Woodside Township, just outside Springfield’s boundaries and a few blocks south of Bunn Golf Course.

The two Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department deputies who responded to a 911 call at 12:30 a.m. July 6 of a prowler at the residence were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the ISP investigation, Campbell said July 10.

The department said in a news release July 6 that the deputies conducted a search of the area after arriving at Massey’s home. “At approximately 1:21 a.m., the deputies reported that shots had been fired, resulting in a female being struck by gunfire,” the release said.

The deputies, whose identities haven’t been revealed, were not injured in the incident, the release said.

Dean Olsen is a senior staff writer at Illinois Times. He can be reached at 217-836-1068, [email protected] or twitter.com/DeanOlsenIT.