In a heartbreaking incident that has rocked the community, body-camera footage revealing the fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who dialed 911 for help, was made public on Monday. This tragedy has resulted in murder charges against a Sangamon County deputy.
The 36-minute video, released by the Illinois State Police, includes body-cam footage from both deputies who responded to Massey’s Springfield home just after midnight on July 6. Massey had called 911 to report a potential “prowler” at her residence, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.
In the footage, deputies Sean Grayson and his partner initially engage with Massey in a calm manner inside her home. The situation escalates when Massey goes to turn off a pot of boiling water on the stove. As she picks up the pot, one deputy steps back, cautioning, “away from your hot steaming water.”
Massey then says, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” to which Grayson responds aggressively, “You better fking not or I swear to God I’ll fking shoot you in the f**king face.” Grayson draws his firearm and points it at Massey, who, while lifting the pot, ducks and says, “I’m sorry.”
Both deputies then command her to “Drop the f**king pot!” Three gunshots ring out, followed by a few seconds of silence before one deputy radios in, “shots fired” and calls for EMS.
Grayson, seemingly justifying his actions, is heard saying, “Dude, I’m not taking fking boiling water to the fking head. And look, it came right to our feet, too.” Later, Grayson explains to another officer that Massey had boiling water and allegedly threatened him with it, claiming, “She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at (me) with boiling water.”
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This disturbing footage surfaces approximately two weeks after the fatal incident and mere days following Grayson’s indictment. Grayson, 30, now faces three counts of first-degree murder, alongside charges of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. Despite entering a not guilty plea, he was denied pretrial release, according to court records.
