*Authorities in Springfield, IL, released the body cam footage revealing the moment a white police officer shot and killed Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 for assistance.
The footage shows Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson fatally shooting Massey, 36, earlier this month inside her home after she reported a suspected prowler near her home.
We reported earlier via CNN that the deputy is now charged with murder in the case. Massey called 911 on July 6 because she thought an intruder was in her home in the Springfield area. Authorities said that Grayson and another deputy responded to the call around 12:50am. In the footage, Grayson and another deputy respond to Massey’s home and spend several minutes looking around the property and speaking to Massey on her front porch before following her into the house.
Speaking mostly to Grayson, Massey seems somewhat hesitant to reticent to give the deputies information but quickly gives them her last name after Grayson says he needs it for his report and reiterates, “You’re not in trouble.”
Massey then says she wants to show the deputies her “paperwork,” but Grayson asks for her ID, saying, “Just a driver’s license will do and then I’ll get out of your hair.”
As she’s looking for the ID, Grayson points to the kitchen where a pot of water is boiling on the stove, and says, “We don’t need a fire in here.” Massey then goes to the kitchen, grabs two oven mitts, and removes the pot from the stove. As she does that, both deputies appear to back away.
“Where are you going?” Massey says.
“Away from your hot steaming water,” Grayson responds with a chuckle. Speaking slowly and casually, Massey then says, “Away from the hot steaming water? Oh, I’ll rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson immediately puts his hand on his gun and shouts, “You better f—king not. I swear to God I’ll f—king shoot you right in your f—king face.”
Before Massey can respond, Grayson pulls his gun and points it directly at Massey. She immediately shouts “I’m sorry” and appears to instinctively drop down to the ground with her hands up before going out of the frame. Grayson and the other deputy can then be heard screaming at her to “drop the f—ing pot,” before Grayson fires at her three times, hitting her in the face at least once.
Grayson did not turn on his body camera until after he shot Massey. When the other deputy says he’s going to get his med kit, Grayson responds, “She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot.”
During the dispute before the shooting, Massey apologized with her hands up, and Grayson yelled at her to put the pot down, prosecutors said. The sheriff’s office said the deputies were not injured.
An Illinois State Police investigation of the case did “not support a finding that … Grayson was justified in his use of deadly force,” the state’s attorney for the county, John Milhiser, said in a news release.
For what it’s worth, the sheriff’s office said the deputies were not injured.
Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the victim’s family, said in a release that it was “extremely hard to imagine how a woman who calls police out of fear of an intruder ends up shot … by the police in her own home.”
Crump said the charges marked “an important milestone in the pursuit of justice for Sonya Massey’s family.”
“This news is a step toward justice for Sonya’s loved ones, especially her children, who have endured unimaginable pain and suffering since they were notified of this tragedy. We remain committed to uncovering the truth of what happened and identifying the failures that allowed this tragic death to occur,” Crump also stated in a release last week.
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Illinois Woman (Sonya Massey) Killed by Deputy After She Called 911 –Deputy Charged with Murder | VIDEO
