The bodycam footage of Sonya Massey, a black woman from Illinois, getting shot by a white police officer was finally released Monday under the authority of the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s office.
The release of the video has been delayed at the request of Massey’s family, but was published Monday afternoon to the Illinois State Police’s YouTube account.
It shows deputies arriving on Massey’s doorstep in Springfield on July 6, to gather more information and check that her home was secure after she called 911 to report a possible prowler in the area at around 1am.
Just about 21 minutes later, Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson is seen on his partner’s body cam drawing his weapon. He pointed his 9mm pistol at Massey, 36, who was holding a pot of boiling water in the kitchen.
Seconds after telling her to drop that pot, she ducked and said ‘I’m sorry,’ before Grayson fired three shots, one of which struck her in the face. Massey was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
A deputy’s body cam shows Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson on Sonya Massey doorstep on July 6 after she called them to report a prowler
Once inside, deputy Sean Grayson started arguing with Massey about a pot of boiling water on the stove and raised his weapon
The altercation began when deputies first arrived at Massey’s Springfield home, and Grayson noticed there was a pot on the stove – asking his partner to check it out.
‘We don’t need a fire while we’re here,’ Grayson said at the time.
That seemed to have started an argument between Massey and Grayson, who prosecutors say ‘aggressively yelled’ at Massey to move it from the stove to the counter.
She then appeared to take it off the stove and told Grayson, ‘I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.’
This is when Grayson pulled out his handgun and said: ‘I swear to God I’ll shoot you in your f***king face.’
Both officers – who at that point had their weapons unholstered – ordered her to drop the pot. She then apologized for what she said and ducked behind the counter.
Grayson, who was standing about 10 to 15 feet away in the adjoining living room, then went around the corner of the counter separating the two rooms to regain visual contact with Massey. He tried to tell her to drop the pot, but cut himself off and opened fire.
He then yelled: ‘I can’t take hot boiling water to the f**king face.’
Grayson would later go on to call Massey ‘f**king crazy,’ the body camera footage shows.
Grayson is seen peeking around the corner of the counter roughly 30 seconds after first opening fire
After Massey was killed, prosecutors said Grayson also discouraged the other deputy from getting his medical kit.
‘The other deputy still rendered aid and stayed with Ms. Massey until medical help arrived,’ First Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Rodgers wrote.
She added that Grayson ‘at no time attempted to render aid to Ms. Massey.’
When police finally arrived, Grayson tried to justify his actions by saying ‘she had boiling water and came at me with boiling water.
‘She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.’
But the deputy refused to turn on his own body camera until after he had already shot Massey.
Massey’s family held a funeral for her on Friday, accompanied by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump
On Monday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul called the newly-released footage ‘horrific,’ adding that he is offering his ‘deepest sympathy to Sonya Massey’s family as they relive a moment no family should experience.’
‘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 urged.
The case has garnered international attention, and has led to a number of protests in Springfield, the State Journal-Register reports.
Amid the uproar, Sheriff Jack Campbell said that Grayson ‘did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards’ and his actions ‘do not reflect the values and training of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office or law enforcement as a whole.’
Grayson had been working at the sheriff’s department since May 2023, and had been in law enforcement since August 2020.
He has since been fired from the department and was charged with three counts of first degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
Grayson will be held in jail until he faces trial, after a county judge agreed on Thursday that he is a risk to the community, according to News Channel 20.
If convicted, Grayson faces life in prison.
Sean Grayson faces life in prison if he is convicted of three counts of first degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct
Meanwhile, Massey’s family held funeral services for her on Friday, where they were accompanied by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.
Crump has represented many the families of many black police shooting victims, including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd.
His personal injury firm released a statement Monday morning, revealing that the Massey family would be speaking ‘with several national leaders on Monday.’
‘It is a very disturbing video,’ the civil rights attorney said of the body camera fotoage. ‘It will shock America’s conscience.’
‘It is that senseless, that unnecessary, that unjustifiable, that unconstitutional.’
Crump added that the names Grayson called Massey in the video were ‘outrageous on every level’ and showed a lack of humanity.
Massey’s death has sparked massive protests in the city of Springfield
Raymond Massey, Sonya’s uncle, also spoke at a news conference on Monday and thanked the Illinois State Police for its work on the investigation of the shooting. He also thanked prosecutors for bringing charges against Grayson.
He said Sonya ‘was a beautiful person’ who ‘spread love.’
President Joe Biden also released a statement calling Massey a ‘beloved mother, friend, daughter and young black woman [who] should be alive today.
‘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.
‘Sonya’s family deserves justice,’ he added.