UPDATE: Body camera video of Sonya Massey’s shooting released
5:45 p.m. Update:
WCIA reviewed the video. The following is a summary of the body camera footage.
Springfield woman Sonya Massey told deputies she loved them. Three minutes later, one of them shot her.
Crump speaks out on body cam footage showing Sonya Massey shooting
Body camera footage released Monday shows the police response to Sonya Massey’s home after she called 911, thinking there was an intruder, that escalated to her clinging to life on her kitchen floor after being shot in the face.
The footage starts with the deputies, Sean Grayson and another whose name has not been released, searching her property for a prowler, but they didn’t find anything. They ended up talking to her after in front of her door.
Grayson asks for Massey’s ID to help with paperwork. The deputy then notices a pot of boiling water on her stove, which Massey goes to move.
That’s when things take a turn.
Grayson pulls his gun, threatening to shoot Massey in the face. He later said thought Massey was going to throw the pot of boiling water. The woman put her hands up and got to the ground.
Three shots were fired. One hit the mother of two in the face.
Her final words were, “I’m sorry.”
The other deputy said he will get his medical kit from their vehicle, but Grayson tells him not to.
Grayson was recorded on camera telling others what he said happened several times.
“What else can we do? I’m not taking a pot of boiling water to the face,” he said.
Grayson also says several disparaging comments about Massey while she was on the floor bleeding, telling an officer “that f****** b**** was crazy.”
“I think she set it up on purpose,” he added. “I had no choice.”
The Sangamon County State’s Attorney disagreed, and did not find his use of force justified. Grayson has been charged with three counts of first degree murder, as well as aggravated battery with a firearm and one charge of official misconduct. He has been detained pre-trial.
2:30 p.m. Update:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — State Police have released the body camera footage from both of the deputies that responded to Sonya Massey’s residence when she was shot and killed on July 6. The full video can be found here on YouTube.
The body camera video is graphic and viewer discretion is advised. Massey’s body after being shot has been censored at the request of her family.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — The body camera footage from the shooting of Sonya Massey, where the Springfield woman was shot and killed by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy earlier this month, is set to be released Monday afternoon.
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser announced the date the body camera footage will be released when he charged Sean Grayson with three counts of first degree murder Wednesday. On Wednesday, the Sangamon County Sheriff also announced he had fired Grayson from the force after being charged.
Pritzker, Sangamon Co. officials speak out on deputy’s shooting charges
The body camera footage was originally scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. Officials announced over the weekend that the release of the footage will be delayed to 2 p.m. at the request of the family.
Massey called 911 on the night of July 6 for reports of a “prowler.” Prosecutors said in court that while Grayson and another deputy were responding to the call at Massey’s residence, Grayson asked Massey to move a pot of hot water on her stove to prevent an accidental fire. When she did, Grayson drew his weapon on her, threatening to shoot her unless she put the pot down.
Community rallies for Sonya Massey; family meets with Sangamon Co. authorities
According to court documents, Grayson only turned on his body camera after he shot Massey. The other deputy present had their body camera footage activated the entire time.
Famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump is expected to speak to the media in Springfield after the body camera footage is released. Ben Crump is also representing the family of Earl Moore Jr., a Springfield man killed in late 2022. Two EMS workers were charged with murder in the case.
Massey family calls for ‘total justice’ at daughter’s funeral
The Springfield community is also gathering for a rally led by the group Intricate Minds. The group is meeting outside of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church at 3 p.m. before a march to Comer Cox Park.
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