A tragic 911 call results in a fatal police shooting; the deputy is charged with murder

Body camera footage showing the deadly police shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who called 911 for assistance, was made public on Monday in a tragic incident that has shocked the community. A Sangamon County deputy is facing murder charges as a result of this tragedy.

The Illinois State Police has released a 36-minute video that features body-cam footage from both of the deputies who responded to Massey’s Springfield house on July 6 shortly after midnight. Massey had reported a possible “prowler” at her house to 911, according to prosecutor-filed court filings.

In the video, Massey is first approached inside her home by deputies Sean Grayson and his colleague in a composed manner. When Massey goes to turn off a pot of boiling water on the stove, things become heated. One of the deputy’s steps back warns her to be “away from your hot steaming water” as she picks up the pot.

In response, Grayson lashes out angrily, saying, “You better fking not or I swear to God I’ll fking shoot you in the f**king face,” while Massey rebukes him in the name of Jesus. As Massey lifts the pot, Grayson pulls out his gun and points it at him. Massey ducks and apologizes.

Then she is told to “Drop the f**king pot!” by both deputies. There are three gunshots, then a little period of silence, and then a deputy radios in, saying, “shots fired,” and dialing EMS.

Grayson is heard stating, “Dude, I’m not taking fking boiling water to the fking head,” as if to defend his conduct. And see, it also arrived at our feet. After that, Grayson tells another officer that Massey threatened him with boiling water, saying, “She came at (me) with boiling water and said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus.”

Just a few days after Grayson’s indictment and around two weeks after the deadly incident, this unsettling video becomes public. Grayson, 30, is currently being prosecuted on three counts of first-degree murder in addition to accusations of official misconduct and aggravated violence with a handgun. According to court documents, he entered a not guilty plea but was not granted pretrial release.