SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – An Illinois sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a woman in the face inside her home after she called 911 to report a possible intruder, even though she tried to duck with her hands up and say “I’m sorry,” charging documents said.
Shawn P. Grayson, who was fired from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, was summoned Thursday before Presiding Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin in Sangamon County Court to face three counts of first-degree murder and two other charges in connection with the shooting that occurred at Sonia Massey’s home on July 6. Grayson has pleaded not guilty to all five charges.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker called the shooting a “heartbreaking event.”
“My heart goes out to not only the victim’s family, but the families in Sangamon County and all the people of color who have had to endure and witness something like this, because this affects everyone, even if it didn’t happen to you,” Pritzker said.
The fatal police brutality of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, drew national attention and sparked local protests, including a gathering of about 200 people at the NAACP building in Springfield on Wednesday. The family hired well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who praised Kadazin’s denial of bail.
“The judge’s decision today to hold Deputy Sean Grayson without bail marks another important step in pursuing justice for Sonia Massey’s family and underscores the seriousness of the charges and the gravity of the officer’s actions,” Crump said. “Sonia’s death is deeply shocking and devastating for her family and the community. We continue to hope that this officer will be held accountable for his deadly actions in order to restore trust and rebuild faith in a grieving community.”
Court documents detail the moments leading up to the fatal shooting.
Grayson, 30, of Riverton, Illinois, had been employed with the Sheriff’s Department since May 2023 but was fired by Sheriff Jack Campbell on Wednesday.
In a statement, Campbell said Grayson “failed to comply with his training or adhere to department standards” and that his actions “do not reflect the values and training of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office or the entire law enforcement community.”
According to the documents, Grayson pulled out a 9mm gun and threatened to shoot Massey in the face. Grayson “yelled violently” before ordering Massey to put down the pot of boiling water. Grayson approached Massey and fired three shots at approximately 1:21 a.m., hitting her once in the face. Grayson had not previously activated his body camera, but another sheriff’s deputy, whose name has not been released, did so after arriving at Massey’s home.
According to the documents, Grayson instructed the other deputy not to remove the medical kit from the car because of the severity of Massey’s injuries, and the other deputy performed the medical treatment and stayed with Massey until an ambulance arrived.
Massey died from a single gunshot wound, Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said.
State police investigation finds deputy’s use of force unjustified
Campbell said the investigation was turned over to Illinois State Police after a tip was received July 6.
A “use of force” expert reviewed the body camera footage as part of the state police investigation and concluded that Grayson was not justified in using deadly force. The expert “likened this scenario to one in which an officer knowingly and unnecessarily stands in front of a moving vehicle, justifying the use of force out of fear of being struck.”
Body camera footage is expected to be released Monday morning.
Judge denies bail request
Attorney Dan Fultz asked for Grayson’s release from custody, telling the court that Grayson is not a flight risk and has been at home since the shooting.
Grayson, who has worked for several other law enforcement agencies in the area, was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in October. Fultz said Grayson had a “medical incident” with a colostomy bag overnight, which he said was another reason he asked for Grayson’s release.
Judge Kadazin said Grayson’s insensitive behavior during and after the shooting, including his failure to help Massey, was one of the reasons he denied Grayson’s petition under the Pretrial Fairness Act and ordered him to remain in pretrial detention.
Many of Massey’s family members attended the hearing, and several in the courtroom praised Kadazin’s decision. Several members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People of Springfield, Faith Coalition for the Public Interest and Black Lives Matter of Springfield were also in attendance.
More than a dozen uniformed officers were in the courtroom, with several more in the hallway. Grayson’s next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26.
2023 will be the deadliest year for police killings
Thursday’s murder indictment is the latest development amid a nationwide rise in police-involved killings, with civil rights advocates sounding the alarm over the rise in such incidents. A Police Violence Mapping report released earlier this year found that 2023 was the deadliest year for police killings in the U.S. since 2016.
Police killed more than 1,300 people in 2023, a year marked by several high-profile incidents, including the beating death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, the shooting of an environmental activist protesting the construction of a police and fire training center near Atlanta, and the death of a Virginia man who “died of asphyxiation” in a hospital.
The report, based largely on news reports but also including state and local government data, found that there were just 14 days last year without a police killing, and that on average, an officer killed someone every 6.6 hours.
The number of such killings has been increasing since Campaign Zero, which runs the police violence mapping project, began tracking the data in 2013.
Contributor: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY
