Shocking bodycam footage shows police fatally shooting a black woman in her home after she…

July 23, 2024, 10:25 AM | Updated: July 23, 2024, 10:30 AM

Bodycam footage showing a black woman being shot by a white police officer after she called 911 for help has been released by the Illinois State Police.

Sonya Massey, 36, was shot and killed on July 6 after she removed a pot of boiling water from the stove at the request of officers following a report of a suspected intruder.

The footage was delayed in release at the request of Massey’s family, but was posted to the Illinois State Police YouTube account Monday afternoon.

Footage shows the horrific moment an Illinois police officer fatally shoots Sonya Massey

The photo shows two officers arriving at Massey’s front door in Springfield to check if her home was safe after she called for help around 1 a.m.

About 21 minutes later, Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson is seen on his partner’s bodycam pulling his gun and then pointing the 9mm pistol at Massey.

Grayson told Massey to drop the pot of boiling water she was holding.

Massey ducked and said, “I’m sorry,” before Grayson fired three shots, one of which hit her in the face. Massey was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The conflict started when Grayson saw the pan on the stove and asked his partner to look at it. He said, “We don’t need a fire as long as we’re here.”

Prosecutors said Grayson aggressively yelled at Massey to move it from the stove to the counter.

Then she appeared to take it off the stove and said to Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

This was when Grayson grabbed his gun and said, “I swear to God I’m going to shoot you in your fucking face.”

Both officers had their weapons pointed and ordered Massey to drop the jar. She apologized for what she said and ducked behind a counter.

Grayson, who was standing approximately 10 to 15 feet away, then walked around the corner of the counter to regain visual contact with Massey. He attempted to tell her to drop the pan, but interrupted himself and opened fire.

Then he shouted, “I can’t have hot boiling water in my face.”

Grayson would later call Massey “f**king crazy,” according to body camera footage. After Massey was killed, prosecutors said Grayson stopped the other officer from getting his first aid kit and made no attempt to help Massey.

“The other deputy continued to render aid and remained with Ms. Massey until medical assistance arrived,” First Assistant District Attorney Mary Rodgers wrote.

She added that Grayson “at no time attempted to render assistance to Ms. Massey.”

When more police arrived, Grayson said, “She had boiling water and she came at me with boiling water.

“She said she would rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.”

However, the officer refused to turn on his own bodycam until he had already shot Massey.

On Monday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul called the footage “horrific,” adding that he extends his “deepest condolences to the family of Sonya Massey as they relive a moment that no family should have to experience.”

“As the community responds to the release of the footage, I urge calm as this case makes its way through the criminal justice system,” he said.

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Sheriff Jack Campbell has said that Grayson “did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards” and that his actions “do not reflect the values ​​and training of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office or law enforcement as a whole.”

Grayson, who had been with the police department since August 2020, has since been fired and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and government misconduct.

Grayson will remain in jail until his trial. A district judge declared him a danger to the community on Thursday, News Channel 20 reported. If found guilty, he could face life in prison.

Massey’s family held a funeral service for her on Friday, joined by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who has represented the family of George Floyd and many other Black victims of the police shooting.

Crump’s personal injury law firm released a statement Monday morning saying the Massey family would be speaking with “several national leaders” on Monday.

Discussing the bodycam footage, he said: “It’s a deeply disturbing video. It will shock the conscience of America.

“It is so pointless, so unnecessary, so unjust, so unconstitutional.”