Illinois Police release bodycam video of fatal shooting of Black woman in her home

By Eric Levenson, Jillian Sykes and Brad Parks, CNN

(CNN) — The sheriff’s office in Sangamon County, Illinois, released body-camera footage Monday showing the fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who had called 911 for help, in a case that has led to murder charges against a deputy.

The 36-minute video released by Illinois State Police includes body-camera footage from each of the two Sangamon County deputies who responded to Massey’s house after midnight on July 6 after Massey called 911 to report a possible “prowler” at her home in Springfield, according to a court document filed by prosecutors.

In the footage, deputy Sean Grayson and another deputy speak calmly with Massey in her home when she goes to the stove to turn off a pot of boiling water. She then picks up the pot and the other deputy steps back, “away from your hot steaming water,” he says.

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she says in response.

“Huh?” the deputy says.

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she repeats.

“You better f**king not or I swear to God I’ll f**king shoot you in the f**king face,” Grayson says.

He then draws his firearm and points it at her, and she ducks and says, “I’m sorry” while lifting the pot, the video shows.

“Drop the f**king pot!” both deputies yell.

Three shots are heard. After a few seconds of silence, one deputy says “shots fired” and calls for EMS.

“I’m gonna go get my kit,” the other deputy says.

“Nah – She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot,” Grayson responds, followed by cursing.

“Dude, I’m not taking f**king boiling water to the f**king head. And look, it came right to our feet, too,” Grayson says.

Minutes after the shooting, Grayson speaks off-camera to another law enforcement figure. “She had boiling water and came at me with boiling water,” he says in the video. “She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.”

CNN has reached out to Grayson’s attorney for comment.

The release of the video comes about two weeks after the fatal shooting and just days after Grayson was charged in her death.

Grayson, 30, was indicted by a grand jury last week on three counts of first-degree murder and one count each of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

He has entered a not guilty plea and was denied pretrial release, according to court records.

Officials criticize deputy’s actions

Since the shooting, local and state officials have criticized the deputy’s actions as an unjustified use of deadly force.

A review of the Illinois State Police investigation into the shooting “does not support a finding that … Grayson was justified in his use of deadly force,” the state’s attorney for the county, John Milhiser, said in a July 17 news release.

In a court document filed by the state last week, prosecutors said a “use-of-force” expert had reviewed the body-camera footage and concluded the use of deadly force was not justified.

“(The expert) likened the scenario to an officer intentionally and unnecessarily putting himself in front of a moving vehicle and then justifying use of force because of fear of being struck,” the prosecutors wrote.

The sheriff’s office said it has fired Grayson. “It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards,” the office said.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a statement Monday saying the footage was “horrific” and offering his sympathy to Massey’s family.

“As the community reacts to the release of the footage, I urge calm as this matter works its way through the criminal justice system,” he said.

“In Illinois we have made sure that the law mandates independent investigations after officer involved shootings. In this matter it appears that the investigation by the Illinois State Police and the subsequent referral to the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s office have complied with the letter and spirit of the law by providing the appropriate transparency and moving toward accountability,” Raoul added.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, said she was unarmed and called for police to release all body-camera footage of the shooting.

“While nothing can undo the heinous actions of this officer, we hope the scales of justice will continue to hold him accountable and we will demand transparency at every step,” he said in a statement last week.

Grayson did not activate his body camera until after he fatally shot Massey, according to charging documents. The other deputy had activated his body camera when he first arrived at the scene, the documents state.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Jamiel Lynch and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.