Sonya Massey: White Illinois Cop Shot Unarmed Black Woman In Face
Body-cam video shows Illinois officer fatally shooting Black woman in face
White deputy Sean Grayson shot Sonya Massey, who called police in fear of a home intruder, after boiling water dispute
Authorities have released shocking video that shows a white police officer in Illinois shooting a Black woman – who called police in fear of a home intruder – in the face, killing her.
Sonya Massey, 36, was killed early on the morning of 6 July by deputy Sean Grayson of the Sangamon county sheriff’s office in her home in Springfield, the Illinois state capitol.
Massey, whom her daughter confirmed was paranoid-schizophrenic, had called police because she thought someone was trying to break into her home. When police arrived, they began looking into Massey’s home with flashlights, a neighbor, Cheryl Evans, told the Guardian. Evans wondered why police had not knocked on her door, as they typically have done in the past when searching for suspects. Eventually, Grayson, who is white, and his partner entered the home where they began speaking to Massey.
After an initial discussion and request for Massey’s driver’s license, Grayson spotted a pot of boiling water on the stove and ordered Massey to remove it to avoid starting a fire. In doing so, Massey asks the officers – who visibly distance themselves from her as she goes to handle the pot – why they moved away from her.
“Where you going?” she asks them.
“Away from your hot steaming water,” Grayson answers, with a laugh, before Massey responds: “Away from the hot steaming water? Oh, I’ll rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
With his gun drawn, Grayson closed the distance between himself and Massey, who was beginning to kneel behind a counter with her hands up.
“You better fucking not, I swear to God I’ll fucking shoot you right in your fucking face,” Grayson warned.
Massey can be heard saying, “I’m sorry,” as Grayson continues to advance. “I’m sorry,” she says again as Grayson fires three shots, striking her with a bullet below the eye that exited from the back of her neck.
As Massey lay dying on her kitchen floor, Grayson says he’ll go get his medical kit to render aid.
“That’s a headshot. She’s done,” Grayson says before going to get the med kit.
As the pair stand there with their guns still drawn, Grayson says: “I’m not taking a bullet out of her fucking head,” then points out that the water from the pot had reached his feet.
“What else can we do?” Grayson asks his partner. “I’m not taking hot boiling water to the fucking face.”
The footage, shown here, may be distressing to some viewers.