DOJ confirms it is ‘assessing the circumstances’ of Sonya Massey shooting

SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed late Tuesday that it is “assessing the circumstances” surrounding the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black woman by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy.

Benjamin Crump, renowned civil rights attorney who represents the family of the woman, said at a news conference on Tuesday that the DOJ had opened an investigation into the shooting death of Sonya Massey, 36.

“This is the worst police shooting video ever,” Crump said.

Massey called 911 to report a prowler outside her home in the early morning hours of July 6. About 30 minutes later, the deputies who responded to the call reported shots fired and Massey had been struck by gunfire.

Former sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, 30, was indicted for first-degree murder last week. He is being detained until trial. After his arrest, Grayson was fired. The body camera video of the incident was released on Monday.

A spokesman for the Department of Justice issued a statement to Capitol News late Tuesday: “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.”

Grayson first became a police officer in 2020 – less than a year after his driver’s license was reinstated for driving under the influence, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.

In his personnel file from his first employer, the Pawnee Police Department, Police Chief Barclay Harris represented to ILETSB that Grayson had no convictions for felonies, qualifying misdemeanors, or crimes of moral turpitude.

Harris and Pawnee leaders declined to comment through their attorney.

Grayson also revealed on his application that he received a general discharge from the military in 2016. He bounced around jobs, working in a gym, as a landscaper and finally as security at HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield – the same hospital where Massey would die four years later.

The village of Pawnee hired Grayson as a part-time patrol officer in 2020.

Then he was sent to training.

In the part-time basic law enforcement course, officers attend training four days a month, usually over two weekends, according to Anthony Cobb, deputy director of ILETSB. Half the course is taught online, and it usually takes nine months.

Grayson began moonlighting at Kincaid Police Department but left three months later when he was hired by Virden Police Department in May 2021.

He worked part-time at Virden for seven months.

In 2022, after seven months outside of law enforcement, the Auburn Police Department hired Grayson for a full-time slot. He did the transition course, but only stayed at Auburn for two months. ILETSB records showed Grayson resigned.

Grayson then went to work at the Logan County Sheriff’s Department beginning in May 2022. He stayed there 11 months before taking the job at Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in May 2023.

Capitol News Illinois requested personnel records from the Logan County Sheriff’s Department and the Auburn and Kincaid police departments, but none had been provided as of Tuesday.

Although driving under the influence is not a disqualifying misdemeanor under ILETSB rules, Macoupin County court records showed that Grayson was also charged in 2015 and 2016 with DUI.

A 2015 report by the Virden Police Department showed that he had a firearm and marijuana in the vehicle at the time of his DUI arrest.

In the 2015 case, he pleaded guilty, was fined $750 and placed on seven days of court supervision. His firearm was returned in 2017, according to a court record.

Virden hired Grayson as a part-time police officer six years after that arrest.

In 2016, two months after he pleaded guilty on the first charge, Grayson was stopped by Macoupin County Sheriff’s deputies and refused a breathalyzer. During the arrest, he told the deputy to “hurry up” because he needed to urinate. He threatened to urinate in a trash can or his pants, according to the report. At one point, he told the arresting officer that he was “too small to make him mad,” according to the police report.

Grayson again pleaded guilty in 2017. His license was revoked for more than two years before being reinstated on Aug. 30, 2019 – less than a year before he first joined the Pawnee Police Department.

Massey’s shooting has gained national attention, garnering comments from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Massey family met with Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Tuesday, Crump said.

At Tuesday’s news conference, Crump appeared with Massey’s family members who said they found out from the media that Massey died in an officer-involved shooting. One family member said hospital personnel overheard police telling nurses that Massey died from a self-inflicted wound. Other family members said they were told Massey was shot by an intruder.

Crump said the family, including her two teenaged children, deserves to know what happened to Massey.

“It is trying to put yourself in their shoes and their neighbors’ shoes,” Crump said. “I know it’s hard for some people to even fathom it, but it’s a reality for most people of color, especially black people in America. We think about this every day that but by the grace of God, it could be your mama next or your daughter or your son.”

The video shows that after checking the house for intruders, police went inside. Massey, wearing nightclothes, asked if she could remove a pot from the stove that was heating an unknown liquid. When the unidentified officer who responded with Grayson moves away, Massey says “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson, who is standing in the living room, threatens to shoot her in the face and draws his weapon.

Massey drops below a kitchen counter that separates them, puts her hands up and apologizes. She rises back up and appears to be holding the upended pot. Grayson fires three shots, including a fatal shot to Massey’s head.

Grayson, 30, who is white, was charged last week on counts of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct for the fatal shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman. 

In a video released by Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, the July 6 shooting of Massey in her home near Springfield shows the events that unfolded at about 12:50 a.m. on July 6. 

Grayson and an unidentified Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at the home in response to a 911 call made by Massey reporting a prowler. As the other officer checked the outside of the home, Grayson, who had not turned his body camera on, can be heard knocking insistently at Massey’s door. 

After a few minutes, Massey responds she is coming.

“Are you coming to the door or not? All right. Hurry up!” Grayson said.

The encounter is mostly routine, although at times Massey seems flustered or disoriented, telling the officers that she called them for help. 

“I heard someone outside,” she said. 

On the video, Grayson and the other officer tell her that they didn’t find anyone outside. 

They seem prepared to leave when Grayson asks Massey about a vehicle parked in the driveway with windows broken out. Massey tells Grayson that the car is not hers. As the unidentified officer runs the plate, Grayson goes inside with Massey. 

Neighbors interviewed by Capitol News Illinois said Massey was recovering from surgery and was involved in a dispute with another neighbor who threw a brick through her car window. 

Grayson asks for her identification. Massey proceeds to tell the officers that she has paperwork for them.

She tells the officers she has water on the stove and asks if she can take it off. 

“We don’t need a fire in here,” Grayson said.

Massey moves a pot from the stove to a counter. Noticing that the unidentified officer moved backward into the living room, she asks why he was moving. He responds he was moving away from the hot water. 

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

Grayson, who is still in the living room separated from the kitchen by a counter, puts his hand on his pistol and tells Massey, “You better not. I swear to God, I’ll f—ing shoot you right in the f—ing face.”

Grayson then pulls his weapon and aims at Massey.

“Drop the f—ing pot! Drop the f—ing pot!”

Massey puts her hands up and ducks down. 

Body camera video shows the moments before Sonya Massey was shot to death in her kitchen. Deputy Sean Grayson has been charged with her murder. (Footage from Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office)

Grayson, still on the other side of the counter, moves towards Massey and fires three shots. One strikes Massey in the face. 

The other officer, who has also drawn his gun, holsters his gun and tells Grayson that he’s going to get his medical kit. 

“She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a head shot,” Grayson tells him. 

“Let her just … There’s nothing we can do,” he says later.

The unidentified officer begins to put pressure on Massey’s wound until paramedics arrive. He notes Massey is still breathing. 

In the video, Grayson can be heard telling another officer who just arrived at the scene that Massey came at him with boiling water. 

As paramedics prepare to take Massey to the hospital, it’s clear from the video that police don’t yet know the name of the woman shot on the kitchen floor, one of the paramedics gives a first name: Sonya. And offers that they had been there earlier in the day. 

Grayson turned his body camera on immediately after the shooting. Body cameras passively record and upload up to two minutes of video before being activated. 

There is video but no audio from Grayson’s body camera at the time of the shooting.

In his video, Grayson is moving towards Massey, who has her hands in the air with potholders. As he comes towards her, she appears to pick up the pot again, but it looks upended. His arm partially obscures the shot.  

Immediately following the shooting, Grayson is on the radio with dispatch asking if they have any history of mental health calls involving Massey. 

On video, an officer asks Grayson if he’s ok.

“Yeah, I’m ok. This f—ing b—h is crazy,” he responded.

He told other officers at the scene, “She set it up on purpose, so it is what it is,” he said, later adding he “didn’t have a choice.”

And that he was “barely” missed with boiling water. 

Massey’s killing caught the attention of the White House on Monday. President Joe Biden issued a statement commending Milhiser for acting quickly to charge Grayson.

“When we call for help, all of us as Americans – regardless of who we are or where we live – should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,” Biden said in the statement. “Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”

Black Lives Matter Springfield issued a warning regarding the video that it called distressing and heartbreaking.

“We are encouraging our black community to take care of themselves during this time. Please prioritize your mental and physical safety by deciding whether or not to watch the footage,” the organization’s statement said.

Milhiser released a statement with the 36-minute video.

“My prayers are with the family of Sonya Massey, and I commend the Illinois State Police for conducting an expedited investigation into her tragic death,” Milhiser said. “The State’s Attorney’s Office is dedicated to pursuing justice through the prosecution of this case.”

Massey’s family has hired renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the families of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Breonna Taylor.

Grayson had worked for the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department since May 2023, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. He was fired after the criminal charges were issued. He remains detained at an undisclosed location until trial. 

The work status of the deputy who was with Grayson at the time of the shooting is unknown.

That unidentified officer’s body camera video ends with him standing at the back of his car, breathing heavily. He wipes Massey’s blood from his trembling hands, mumbles curses and takes short, irregular breaths. Emergency lights line the residential neighborhood. 

Another officer approaches and asked, “You good?”

“I’m fine.”

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.