Body cam footage shows white US police shooting unarmed Black woman
Bodycam video from the Illinois State Police Department captured the moment a deputy shot a Black woman during a call for help at her home.
Sean Grayson, 30, fired three shots, striking Sonya Massey one time in the face as she ducked for cover behind a kitchen counter separating the two, according to court documents. The shooting followed a verbal exchange about a pot on the stove.
Massey, a mother of two teenagers, had called police regarding a suspected intruder in her Springfield home, said Ben Crump, the prominent US civil rights lawyer representing the family.
It is the latest in a running list of high-profile police killings of Black people, including George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Roger Fortson, that Crump has counseled.
The now-former Illinois sheriff’s deputy pleaded not guilty to murder on July 18, according to court documents, one day after he was fired, arrested and charged in the fatal shooting.
A grand jury indicted Grayson, who is white, on five charges, including three counts of murder in the first degree, one count of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct. He was arraigned in Illinois’ Seventh Judicial Circuit Court on Thursday and pled not guilty to all charges. He was jailed until his next court date on August 26.
According to the indictment, Massey had placed a pot of possibly hot water on the counter on Grayson’s instructions. 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,” and duck for cover behind a counter separating the two.
Grayson moved closer, yelled at Massey to put the pot down and opened fire, the document said. He then activated his body camera, though his partner’s camera was activated upon arriving on the scene. He is twice her size, according to court files.
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.
