The deputy sheriff who fatally shot Sonya Massey in her Illinois home last month said he believed that when the Black woman who called 911 for help unexpectedly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” that she intended deadly harm, according to the deputy’s field report released Monday.
“I interpreted this to mean she was going to kill me,” Sean Grayson wrote, adding that when he drew his pistol and Massey ducked behind a counter that separated them, he moved around the obstacle fearing that she was going to grab a weapon.
Grayson, a 30-year-old Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy, faces first-degree murder, aggravated battery and official misconduct charges in the death of the 36-year-old Springfield woman on July 6 which has drawn nationwide protests over the killing of Black people by police in their homes. Grayson has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.
Massey’s family has called for the resignation of Sheriff Jack Campbell — who has refused to step down — arguing that problems in Grayson’s past should have precluded a law enforcement assignment. The family has hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment by phone, email or text.
Grayson and a second unidentified deputy answered her call about a suspected prowler just before 1 a.m. Inside her home, Grayson directed that a pan of water be removed from a burner on the stove. Grayson and Massey shared a chuckle as he warily moved away from the “hot steaming water.”
“Sonya turned to face me holding the pot. I did not know the type of liquid that was boiling,” Grayson wrote in his report three days after the incident.
“I advised Sonya to put the boiling liquid down. Sonya stated (she) was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus. She stated this twice. I interpreted this to mean she was going to kill me.”
Massey’s family has said that Sonya Massey struggled with mental health issues. She met the deputies at her front door by repeating, “Please God” and inside the house, asked Grayson to pass her a Bible.
Upon hearing the religious admonition, Grayson then drew his pistol and barked commands to “drop the (expletive) pot.” Massey ducked behind the counter, rose up and appeared to grab the pan again before diving for cover. Grayson said he stepped toward and around the counter to keep Massey in sight, wary that she might have a hidden weapon.
“As I approached the cabinet, Sonya stood up from a crouched position, grabbing the pot, raising it above her head and throwing the boiling substance at me,” Grayson reported. “I was in imminent fear of getting boiling liquid to my face or chest, which would have caused great bodily harm or death.”
It’s unclear from the video whether Massey attempted to toss the pan’s contents, and she was obscured from view when Grayson fired three 9 mm rounds, one of which struck Massey just below the eye. His report then indicates he looked down to see the liquid had “hit my boots and I observed steam coming from the cabinet area.”
By the time he completed the field report July 9, Grayson had been placed on administrative leave. The document indicates he received department permission to review the body camera video, the bulk of which had been recorded on the other deputy’s camera. Grayson said he thought his was on when the two first met Massey at the door, but he didn’t turn it on until just after the shooting.
The other deputy’s report was not part of the release, which included seven other officers’ reports of their activities at the site of the shooting and all completed on July 6 and one completed July 7, heavily redacted before release, by a deputy who had a casual conversation with someone who was familiar with Massey.
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