The white sheriff’s deputy who killed unarmed black mom Sonya Massey in her kitchen after she reported a suspected prowler once needed ‘high-stress decision making classes.’
Sean Grayson, 30, received the recommendation from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois after he failed to slow down when his boss called off a vehicle pursuit, CNN reports.
He was driving around 110mph and struck a deer, just a few years before he shot the 36-year-old mother in her kitchen over a pot of boiling water on July 6, according to records from the sheriff’s office.
‘Deputy Grayson pursued the truck through Lincoln at a high rate of speed, reaching speeds of 63/30 MPH zones, and in my opinion, failed to show due caution while driving through stop intersections,’ the chief deputy wrote at the time.
Sean Grayson, 30, was remanded by the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois, which recommended he take ‘high-stress decision making classes’
The report noted that Grayson’s supervisor ‘terminated the pursuit,’ and Grayson turned off his emergency lights.
He then ‘continued at a high rate of speed (110/55mph zone) prior to striking the deer.’
‘Deputy Grayson acknowledged he lacks experience,’ the report said.
It would go on to list a series of recommendations, including ‘additional traffic stop training, report writing training, high-stress decision making classes and needs to read, understand and discuss issued Logan County Sheriff’s Office Policy.’
It is unclear whether Grayson ever followed through with those recommendations.
He resigned from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in April 2023, and the next month, he joined the sheriff’s office in Sangamon County where he shot Massey in the face.
The incident came just a few years before Grayson shot and killed Sonya Massey, 36
Massey was shot at three times by Grayson earlier this month after she called police to report a prowler. She had a pot of water boiling on the stove when he arrived, which Grayson asked her to shut off and threatened to shoot her
Massey, 36, who had mental health problems, called the police to her home in Springfield, Illinois, in the early hours of July 6 to report a prowler in the area. Two Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies responded to the call.
After a 30 minute search of the area in which they did not find a suspect, the two went inside Massey’s home and engaged her conversation.
They then found a pot of boiling water on the stove, which Grayson asked her to shut off and threatened to shoot her.
Bodycam footage shows the young woman ducking and apologizing as the deputy fires three times.
An autopsy has since determined that Massey was shot in the face below her left eye, which caused her skull to fracture and perforated her carotid artery.
That caused her brain to bleed before the bullet exited the back of her upper neck.
Massey also suffered from minor blunt force injuries to her right leg, the coroner said.
Grayson has since been removed from the force and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and official misconduct in Massey’s death.
The former deputy, who lost his job over the shooting, pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is currently being held in the county jail while he awaits trial.
Sonya Massey, 36, was a loving mother-of-two who had suffered with mental health issues
What led to the shooting of Sonya Massey
Sean Grayson and another Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy were called to Sonya Massey’s home for a suspected prowler at 12:50 a.m. July 6.
The two officers searched the exterior of the home for 30 minutes, discovering only a car with smashed windows.
During her interactions with the officers, Massey made several mentions of Jesus Christ and the Bible.
Massey had placed a pot of possibly hot water on the counter on Grayson’s instructions.
The victim made a comment about ‘rebuking’ Grayson in the name of Jesus Christ.
Grayson was in the living room when he then drew his firearm and threatened to shoot Massey in the face, prompting her to put her hands in the air, say, ‘I’m sorry.’
Massey ducks for cover behind a counter separating the two.
Grayson moved closer, yelled at Massey to put the pot down and opened fire, hitting her three times, once in the head.
Grayson did not render aid and discouraged the other deputy not to provide help.
The second deputy, who was not named, stayed by Massey until medics arrived. She was pronounced dead at St. John’s Hospital.
But this isn’t Grayson’s first go with misconduct while on the job. His discharge from the Army was listed under ‘misconduct (serious offense),’ according to documents obtained by ABC News.
The Army declined to release further information regarding Grayson’s discharge, citing the Privacy Act and Department of Defense policy that prevents the release of information regarding conduct of low-level employees.
Grayson worked as a Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic for the Army between May 2014 to February 2016 and he left with a rank of private first class, a spokesperson told ABC News.
During his time in the military, he was charged with a DUI offense in Illinois in August 2015 and another shortly after his discharge in July 2016 in the same county, ABC News reported.
He paid thousands of dollars in fines for the unlawful act and his car was impounded after the 2015 incident, records show.
Grayson has also hopped around various police forces, working for six agencies in four years.
His first police job was at the Pawnee Police Department, where he held a part-time position between August 2020 and July 2021, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB).
He also worked at the Kincaid Police Department from February 2021 to May 2021 and Virden Police Department from May 2021 to December 2021. Both were part-time positions.
Grayson held full-time positions from Auburn Police Department from July 2021 to May 2022 and Logan County Sheriff’s Office from May 2022 to April 2023.
He started at Sangamon County in May 2023, according to ILETSB.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, has now asked why Grayson ‘was even on the sheriff’s department in the first place.’
In a statement announcing Grayson’s termination, Logan County Sheriff Jack Campbell said it was ‘clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards.
In a follow-up statement on July 22, the sheriff wrote: ‘Grayson had other options available that he should have used. His actions were inexcusable and do not reflect the values or training of our office. He will now face judgment by the criminal justice system and will never again work in law enforcement.
‘Ms. Massey needlessly lost her life, and her family deserves answers. I trust the legal process will provide them.’