Officer shot and killed black woman who had called police for help, bodycam footage shows
A white police officer shot and killed a black woman who had called for help because she believed there was an intruder at her house, bodycam footage has shown.
Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, 30, has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Sonya Massey had called the police to her home in Springfield, Illinois, in the early hours of July 6. Mr Grayson and his partner responded to the call. After conducting a search around the property, they told Ms Massey they had not found anyone.
Standing outside the front door, one of the officers asked: “What do you need help with?”
Ms Massey, 36, who relatives said suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, replied: “Nothing.”
It is dark outside and the officer accompanying Mr Grayson is pointing a torch at the ground. Ms Massey holds her phone in her hand while speaking with the officers.
Mr Grayson asks Ms Massey if she is “doing alright mentally”.
The officers then go inside the property with Ms Massey and ask for her driver’s licence. Sitting on the couch, Ms Massey, sifts through belongings trying to find her ID.
Mr Grayson then spots a pot of boiling water on a stove and tells Ms Massey to remove it, saying: “We don’t need a fire while we’re here.”
As she removes the pot, the officers step back. Ms Massey asks: “Where are you going?”, to which an officer replies: “Away from your hot steaming water.”
She replies: “Away from the hot steaming water? Oh, I’ll repent you in the name of Jesus.”
Mr Grayson draws his handgun and moves towards Ms Massey, who ducks behind a kitchen counter with her hands raised.
“You better f---ing not, I swear to God, I’ll f---ing shoot you right in your f---ing face,” the officer says. Ms Massey replies: “I’m sorry.”
Mr Grayson continues to walk towards her and then fires shots, hitting her in the face. He continues to instruct her to drop the pot while she lies on the floor.
As the woman lies on the floor dying, Mr Grayson can be heard saying: “That’s a headshot. She’s done.”
His partner, who has not been named, tries to administer help and says: “She’s still gasping.”
Mr Grayson tells his partner: “What else do we do? I’m not taking hot boiling water to the f---ing face.”
Paramedics later arrived at the house and took Ms Massey to a nearby hospital but by the time she arrived she was dead.
Mr Grayson was arrested and charged on July 17, and pleaded not guilty to all charges the next day. He was remanded in custody and will next appear in court on Aug 26. He has been fired from the police force.
Joe Biden used his first public statement since quitting the US presidential race to condemn the shooting and called on politicians to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
“When we call for help, all of us as Americans – regardless of who we are or where we live – should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,” the US president said.
“Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”