It all happens in a few seconds – the interaction between a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy and Sonya Massey that leads to her being shot in the face in her home.
The 36 minutes of police-worn camera video showing the July 6 death of Massey inside her Woodside Township home in the “Cabbage Patch” neighborhood begins with calm and even light-hearted conversation between Massey and two deputies.
But within seconds, after Massey, 36, takes a pot of hot water off her kitchen stove and puts the pot on a counter, the scene progresses to yelling by the deputies and ends with Grayson taking two steps toward Massey before firing three shots at the unarmed woman.
Grayson, 30, who would be charged two weeks later with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in connection with Massey’s death, says later on the video that he fired his 9mm gun after Grayson threw some of the hot water toward the deputies, though the flinging of water can’t be seen on the video.
A Sangamon County judge ordered Grayson detained while he awaits trial. Grayson, a Riverton resident, is being held at the Menard County Jail in Petersburg.
Release of the video prompted widespread condemnation from local, state and national elected officials, pledges to seek justice for Massey and condolences to her family.
Statements included one from President Joe Biden, who called for Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to crack down on police brutality. The Massey family also had an in-person meeting July 23 with Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton at a local church.
Prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is representing the Massey family, said at a Springfield news conference July 23 that he was informed the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Massey’s death.
Crump said he didn’t know the scope of the investigation yet. The family appreciated the federal probe even though family members have been happy with Illinois State Police and State’s Attorney John Milhiser’s swift investigation of the case and charges against Grayson.
A DOJ spokesperson said in a statement: “The Department of Justice is aware of and assessing the circumstances surrounding the tragic officer-involved death of Ms. Sonya Massey and extends condolences to her family and loved ones. The department will continue to track the criminal case opened by the Sangamon County state’s attorney.”
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, and others have called for Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell to resign for hiring an officer with two prior DUI convictions. Campbell, an elected Republican office holder, said through a spokesperson that he won’t resign.
Campbell said in a statement, “Sonya Massey lost her life due to an unjustifiable and reckless decision by former deputy Sean Grayson. Grayson had other options available that he should have used. His actions were inexcusable and do not reflect the values or training of our office."
Sangamon County spokesperson Jeff Wilhite said the county was aware of Grayson’s DUI convictions when he was hired in May 2023. Grayson had two years and nine months of combined full and part-time experience before being hired, Wilhite said.
“All employees undergo a background check,” Wilhite said. “To our knowledge, Grayson had not been fired from a prior law enforcement job. Grayson had no use-of-force complaints or citizens’ complaints while employed as a Sangamon County deputy. And, to our knowledge, Grayson had no complaints filed against him at prior law enforcement jobs.”
Wilburn commended Springfield’s mayor and chief of police, Sangamon County prosecutors and Illinois State Police investigators for their comments and involvement with the case. But Wilburn said, “The sheriff here is an embarrassment.”
After the release of police-worn camera footage on July 22, Crump said the video is “shocking.”
“He killed her so senselessly,” Crump said of Grayson. “It was senseless on every level.”
Massey’s daughter, Jeanette “Summer” Massey, said her mother was previously diagnosed as having schizophrenia with paranoia.
But Crump said Grayson could have used the Taser he was carrying. He could have backed away or called a mental-health professional to the scene, Crump said.
“He could have done any number of things, but he engaged. He went closer to her,” Crump said.
Massey “was dealing with some issues,” Crump said. “She needed a helping hand. She didn’t need a bullet to the face.”
The incident began because of a 911 call that Massey made about 12:50 a.m. July 6 when she suspected there was a prowler outside her home in the 2800 block of Hoover Avenue. After Grayson and another deputy arrive, Massey, a single mother of two teenagers who is alone in the house, answers the door and says, “Please God, please God, I’m trying to get help, y’all.”
She tells the deputies at her front door: “I love y’all. Thank you.” They search outside, fail to find any prowler and appear ready to leave when Grayson asks Massey for identification. She goes inside to get documentation, and the deputies follow her inside.
The key exchange on the video begins with Massey, a slight woman standing 5 feet 1 inches tall and weighing about 110 pounds, standing in a nightgown and pajamas behind a counter in her kitchen. Grayson, according to court records, stands 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 230 pounds.
“Where are you going?” Massey says in the direction of Grayson, who is white, and the other white deputy – who isn’t named and hasn’t been charged – while the pair stand in Massey’s living room next to the open kitchen area.
Grayson doesn’t appear to move but tells Massey that he wants to stay “away from your hot, steaming water.”
“Away from my hot, steaming water?” Massey asks. Then she says something that appears to upset Grayson: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” She says the phrase again.
Grayson replies: “You better fucking not. I’ll fucking shoot you in your fucking face.”
Massey says, “OK, I’m sorry.” She appears to put her hands on the pot on the kitchen counter, then put her hands in the air and duck behind the counter.
Grayson points his gun toward Massey and yells: “Drop the fucking pot! Drop the fucking pot!" As he is yelling, Grayson takes two steps toward Massey, moving part of the way around the end of the counter. He again yells, “Drop” before firing three shots at her. One of the bullets hits her in the face and she collapses.
It's unclear on the video whether Massey had taken her hands off the pot by the time Grayson fired the shots.
When the other deputy says they should retrieve a medical kit to tend to Massey’s wounds, Grayson says: “You can get it, but it’s a head shot.”
Grayson then says, “Goddamn it. I’m not going take fucking boiling water in the fucking head. Hey, look. It (the water) came right to our feet, too. Goddamn it.”
Grayson then says, “There’s nothing we could do, man.”
The other deputy appears to put pressure on Massey’s head to slow the bleeding until emergency medical service workers arrive. Grayson does not render medical aid and makes a comment about not wasting his med kit.
The video shows Grayson, who was fired the same day a Sangamon County grand jury handed down its indictment of him July 17, commenting to authorities as they arrive at the scene.
“She had boiling water and came at me with boiling water,” Grayson says. “She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus.”
When Grayson is outside the house, his own body-worn camera records him telling other police officers, “This fucking bitch is crazy” and “it fucking happened so goddamn quick. … She set it up on purpose. … I didn’t have a fucking choice. … We barely got missed.”
At the July 22 news conference, Teresa Haley, founder of nonprofit Visions 1908 and former president of the Springfield NAACP, said, “It is imperative that we do everything to make sure that this officer spends the rest of his life behind bars.”
Crump said, “Black women don’t get the consideration and respect in America.”
What the video depicted was “heinous,” he said. “Where is the humanity? Where is the training? Until we get justice for Sonya Massey, we rebuke this discriminatory criminal justice system, in the name of Jesus.”
Her father called for Congress to pass the George Floyd legislation as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
“I want justice for my baby,” Wilburn said. “You killed the wrong Black woman this time.”
