SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – Two emergency calls were made from the home of Sonya Massey, the black woman who was shot in the face by an Illinois sheriff’s deputy after she called 911 for help in the days leading up to her death, according to records released Wednesday.
In a third call, Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, reports that her daughter is suffering a “mental breakdown” and tells the dispatcher, “I don’t want you guys to hurt her.” She adds that she fears the police and asks that no “prejudiced” officers be sent.
In the remaining calls, a woman calling from Sonya Massey’s address, who does not identify herself, says that people want to hurt her and, a day later, a woman who identifies herself as Sonya Massey reports that a neighbor hit her with a brick.
The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department is still trying to determine whether Massey’s history of mental health issues was conveyed to deputies who responded to the call about an alleged burglar that ended in his death on July 6.
Former deputy sheriff Sean Grayson, 30which is white, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and official misconduct in the shooting death of Massey, 36, in his home. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
Also Wednesday, Sheriff Jack Campbell released Grayson’s personal archive in response to public records requests, with records ranging from his hiring on May 1, 2023, to his dismissal on July 17, the day he was indicted. This confirms what was previously known, that Campbell was aware of Grayson’s two drunk driving convictions within a year, the first of which led to his premature discharge from the Army.
Campbell said DUIs do not disqualify a candidate and that Grayson’s quick succession of jobs — five in four years before joining Sangamon’s department — showed an admirable ambition to advance to larger, more structured departments. The sheriff said he was not aware of any previous disciplinary problems. References indicating that Grayson needed more training are common for young recruits, and Grayson later participated in 16 weeks of training at the academy, Campbell said.
Grayson’s psychological evaluation on March 31, 2023 found him fit to serve, but noted, “He knows he can sometimes move too quickly. He needs to slow down to make good decisions.”
Body camera video shows that after checking the yards around the house shortly before 1 a.m. on July 6, Massey greeted officers at the front door with, “Don’t hurt me,” appeared confused and repeated, “ Please God”. Inside her home on the southeast side of Springfield, she had trouble finding her ID and asked for her Bible.
Following Grayson’s direction to remove a pot of water from the stove, she unexpectedly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson then pulled out his gun and shouted at her to drop the presumably hot water before firing three times, hitting her. below the left eye.
The personnel file includes the results of the internal investigation that led to Grayson’s firing, indicating that he violated rules on use of force and standards of conduct, failed to turn on his body camera or provide medical assistance, and insubordination by refusing to answer questions during the investigation interview, even after a superior ordered him to do so.
“Grayson immediately resorted to deadly force based on the decedent’s statement: ‘I rebuke him in the name of Jesus,’” Chief Deputy Anthony Mayfield wrote. “When Deputy Grayson pointed his firearm at the deceased, she was not making any aggressive movements, just talking.”
Grayson’s failure to “try nonviolent strategies and techniques” or to communicate led to Massey’s death, Mayfield said.
Family members said Massey struggled with mental health issues and had undergone treatment. His son, Malachi Hill Massey, said last week that his mother sent him and his sister to live with his parents the first week of July because she had checked into a 30-day boarding school. hospital treatment programand returned two days later.
Just before 9:30 p.m. on July 4, a 911 caller from the Massey address said, “Someone is trying to hurt me.” When the dispatcher asked who she was, she said, “Lots of them.” Pressed for more information, she said: “Never mind. This must not be the right number,” and she logged off. When called back, she said she no longer needed the police. Wilhite said authorities don’t know if it was Massey who called.
The next morning, shortly after 9 a.m., Donna Massey called to say her daughter was outside the house screaming. She said that Sonya Massey is not a danger to anyone, but “When she gets upset, she thinks everyone is out to get her, like a paranoid schizophrenic.”
She told the dispatcher she fears the police and didn’t want her daughter to get hurt.
“Please do not send combative, bigoted police officers,” said Donna Massey.
Springfield police, who responded to the call, reported that Massey did not want to speak to medical professionals, but was checked out by emergency medical technicians who “cleared” her.
Sonya Massey called a few hours later to report that a neighbor had hit her with a brick. A sheriff’s deputy caught up with her at a hospital, where the dispatch log said she went “seeking treatment for her mental condition.” She told the officer that the neighbor used a brick to break the window of her SUV and that she broke another one “in an attempt to get into the car to get away.”
The deputy noted that Massey appeared to be having mental health issues and was seeking treatment for scratches he received while walking through the broken glass. She told the officer that she had recently been discharged from a mental health facility and stated that that day “she left with the” police “who tried to run her off the road.”
The officer said Massey also had documentation of a July 3 interaction with a mobile mental health crisis unit from another Springfield hospital.
Twelve hours later, when Grayson and the second deputy responded to the July 6 call and were searching her yard, body camera video indicates they noticed the SUV’s broken windows and asked Massey if it was hers, which she denies.
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Associated Press writer Gabe Stern contributed from Needham, Massachusetts.
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