Sangamon County, Illinois: Sonya Massey's autopsy shows she was shot "execution style". The round entered her left eye and exited at a lower angle out of the back of her neck. This shows she was low on the ground when shot. Just minutes before taking her life, he said to his partner that Sonya was "probably hiding drugs". This shows his attitude and contempt before even meeting her. His partner also told him "not to break her door" because he was violently beating on it.
-The very shocking size difference between Sonya Massey and Deputy Grayson-
Sonya was 5'1" and very thin. Sean Grayson, the deputy with a troubling past that took her life, is 6'5" and weighs 260 pounds. He is reported as "very muscular".
"The pot of water dispute."
Firstly, the widely held belief is that Sonya touched the pot to "drop it" because she was being ordered to "drop" a pot that was not in her hands at all.
According to forensic video experts in law enforcement as well as independent experts, and a grand jury, Sonya did not touch the pot handle until after a firearm was pointed at her face. She grabbed it one-handed and not with all of the fingers on her right hand. In other words, she barely had a grasp on it. It happens so quickly that it is under one second and one frame of a video. It was directly above her head and scientifically speaking, this is why it landed on her. When the firearm was pointed at her, she immediately held her hands up and said, "I'm sorry". The officer, who is being charged with 3 counts of first degree murder and excessive force; advanced (he is charged for this action as it is not police procedure) toward the unarmed woman. Sonya sadly can't answer for herself why she (barely) grabbed the pot which landed on just her and naturally slowly spread on the floor.
If you watch the video, she was visibly confused and scared as to why she was at gunpoint without any weapons, without acting aggressively, and without threatening the officer. Sangamon County released that she was not aggressive and never threatened anyone. One thing we know for sure, all thanks to forensic experts, and the body cam itself, she was scared and cowering with her hands up with a firearm in her face that was being "held by a screaming and cussing officer". Sonya never cussed during the entire video. She never raised her voice. Sonya never acted aggressively. Sonya did seem very scared and somewhat mentally unwell. Her first words when the officers arrived were, "please don't hurt me". The pot of water was not a real threat when the firearm was drawn. Not to be repetitive, but his own Department stated that he was in the wrong for this.
"I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."
These were words spoken by a mentally ill woman in need of help. Many people online state that when Sonya asked the officer to hand her Bible to her, this may have been her way of deciding if he was a bad individual. Officers are trained to work with paranoid individuals.
Sonya wasn't touching the pot of hot water when she said this sentence that seems to be getting a lot of attention. In the body cam footage, deputy #1 even turned his back (he saw no threat) and continued to do his job looking for the prowler Sonya called about. He found no threat in the comment about Jesus, and he knew the threat was over, pertaining to the hot water, because she had set it down. He was light-hearted about the hot water topic. He continued to look for the prowler while his partner seemed to taunt her over the water, water that Sonya never cared about or thought about until the officer (that is now charged with her death), told her to remove it from the stove.
"Why were they in Sonya's house?"
This was a question asked immediately by not only fellow law enforcement officers but also the public. Former NYPD Police Chief Edwin Perez stated, "She gave all of the indications and responses that the call was over at the front door. There was no reasonable suspicion to go into her home especially since she was the physical 911 caller. Maybe they were bored? Maybe they 'wanted' to find something. Either way, the call was definitely over and they did not need her identification or to enter her home at any point. Poor tactics were seen in the entire body cam footage pertaining to Sean Grayson." The former chief goes on to share that he hopes people recognize that while both deputies were outside, deputy #1 was walking away, doing a final sweep, because the call was over. Unfortunately we will not know what was said between Grayson and Massey because he did not have his body camera on. The other deputy only caught the visual of them walking in the home.
NYPD former Police Chief Edwin Perez studied the Illinois laws and noted it is clearly stated that a taser, (and then a baton) should be used before a firearm is ever pulled in a situation exactly like this. Grayson is being charged with three counts because he threatened to take her life three separate times while she had nothing in her hands but a red pot holder. "He definitely escalated the situation," Chief Perez shared.
-The call no one wants to receive.-
Shockingly, the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office called Sonya's son, Malachi Massey, and told him "an unknown person shot Sonya". The number did not have any identification but because it was the middle of the night, he answered the call. Malachi is distraught because "every single day he went to his mother's home". The day her life was taken was the one day he was at work and could not check in on her.
"Self inflicted- Confirmed."
This was stated on the 911 call immediately. From the very start, the local law enforcement tried to pass this off as a self-inflicted wound. However, in the body cam footage you see and hear the sheriff quite literally ask, "where is the gun?" Grayson stated he shot her over the hot water. The sheriff says nothing back to him. In fact, in the body cam footage, while Sean Grayson is calling Sonya "an effing crazy b-word", medics and deputies say nothing back to him. They know that Sonya is taking her last breaths.
According to family, deputies on scene also told Sonya's family that a "neighbor had shot her". When the family pressed for answers about "which neighbor or which direction", they were ignored. They only found out a full day after Sonya passed away that an officer actually shot her.
-The palpable silence from other officials on scene.-
We probably won't know why medics and deputies refused to speak to Sean Grayson, but many believe this was extremely telling. Equally shocking was the fact Sean Grayson called his partner a dipsh*t when deputies were asking how his partner was doing while cradling Sonya's head and holding the fatal wound with his bare hands. Deputy #1 tried to tell his partner that Sonya was still breathing but his partner did not respond.
"Duty of first aid care."
Deputy Grayson never once attempted to give any medical help to Sonya Massey. In the time frame that he should have been doing that, (as he would have been trained to do), he was insulting her and tweaking his story about the pot of water. This was all met with silence by medics and deputies.
Viewers of the body cam footage were shocked when Deputy Grayson threw his first aid kit on the ground and said he wasn't going to waste his equipment on her. He didn't even bring the kit in until first responders arrived. When he went to retrieve his med kit in the very crucial first aid care minutes, he simply cussed and then approached another deputy to speak harshly about Sonya Massey.
-The aftermath and discoveries.-
Sonya's family attorney, nationally renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, stated that so many disgusting and despicable comments were made about Sonya by Deputy Grayson that it clearly shows Deputy Grayson felt absolutely no remorse. He was not even shaking which is a common response after an incident such as this. Ben Crump did state that in the video you see Deputy #1 shaking violently while physically and emotionally distraught. Attorney Crump stated Deputy #1 was the only initial responding officer to show any concern or remorse. "He had at least an ounce of humanity."
Attorney Crump and the family are both demanding answers on why they were lied to by multiple officers after Sonya's death.
-She was not beyond help.-
Sonya didn't actually pass away until she was at St. John's hospital. She was alive while on scene. Deputy #1's first aid gave her a chance to live, which is something Deputy Grayson fought against. Deputy Grayson even told Deputy #1 not to bother to get his medkit. He is caught on video saying " just let her" (die) but he caught himself in the first syllable (D) and said that it was a headshot and there was no chance.
Today's development:
During a press conference today, Sonya's son Malachi stated he believes he spoke to Deputy Grayson earlier in the day about his mother driving herself to the hospital for a consultation about her mental health. He believes that it was Deputy Grayson and his partner that reassured him they would make sure they helped however they could.
This is still being investigated. It is not clear which deputies were informed that Sonya Massey was having a rough time mentally and seeking help at the hospital. However, knowing this makes it even harder to hear Deputy Grayson speak to her very mockingly when asking her "if he could help her with anything else". He says it very slowly in a clearly "dumbed down" voice.
-Her Children-
In today's press conference we learned that Sonya Massey's daughter is too scared to get a drink or even use the restroom without FaceTiming with her relative. We also learned that her son Malachi cannot even sleep in bed, he can only sleep on the floor and only after sheer exhaustion. He wondered aloud today what would have happened to him if he would have been on the scene and tried to defend his mother's actions or explain her situation.
-My personal experience with 911 stalker/prowler calls-
I have had to call 911 several times due to individuals being on my property, and at one point I had to call because an individual tried to grab me out of my car. I never had to show my ID or identify myself. Police came on the scene (my yard) and looked for the individual. I understand I am a public figure, but before I was a public figure I had to call about suspicious individuals and I still never had to show my ID. I feel it's only fair to share my experience with this same type of call.
Our thoughts continue to be with Sonya Massey's family, friends and her entire community.
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