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24-07-2024
SPRINGFIELD: Illinois police have released bodycam footage that shows the chaotic moments that led to the fatal shooting of a woman who had called 911 to report a suspected intruder at her home.
The killing of Sonya Massey, 36, over Independence Day weekend has led to criminal charges against one of the officers who responded to her home, and has drawn condemnation from President Joe Biden.
Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson has been fired from the police force and charged with murder and official misconduct.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. As of Monday, he was being held without bond.
On Monday, Illinois State Police released bodycam footage that shows the officers shouting at Ms Massey to put down a pot of boiling water as they point their pistols at her. The incident in the early hours of 6 July began when Massey called police to her home in Springfield, 200 miles (320km) south of Chicago, to report that she believed someone had broken into her property.
Deputies followed her inside when Massey entered her home and watched as she searched for her identification.
In the video, Grayson sees a pot sitting on a stove, gestures towards it and says; “we don’t need a fire while we’re here”.
Massey walks to the stove to remove the pot. She and Grayson appear to laugh over her pot of “steaming hot water,” before she twice says: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
“You better [expletive] not or I swear to God I’ll (expletive) shoot you in your (expletive) face,” Grayson says. He then draws his pistol as he shouts for her to drop the pot. “OK, I’m sorry,” Massey is heard saying before she ducks.
After shooting her, the officer says: “What else do we do? I’m not taking hot (expletive) boiling water to the (expletive) face.”
On Monday, the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office said Grayson was not justified in his use of force on Massey.
In a statement, President Biden said he was “heartbroken” for her family.
“Sonya Massey, a beloved mother, friend, daughter, and young Black woman, should be alive today,” he said.
“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.”
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul called the footage of the shooting “horrific” in a statement on Monday.
“As the community reacts to the release of the footage, I urge calm as this matter works its way through the criminal justice system,” Raoul said.
Lawyers for Massey’s family have commended prosecutors for their swift action against Grayson.
Lawyer Benjamin Crump said the footage “is going to shock the conscience of America”.
“It is that senseless, that unnecessary, that unjustifiable, that unconstitutional,” he said.
Massey’s family lawyer, Ben Crump, slammed Grayson’s defence in a Monday news conference, calling it “disingenuous” and said the shooting would “shock the conscience of America”.
“She needed a helping hand. She did not need a bullet to her face,” Crump said.
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, demanded the county court system be completely open with its investigation and prosecution and transparent with the public. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
