The bodycam footage of Sonya Massey, a black woman from Illinois, getting shot by a white police officer was finally released Monday under the authority of the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s office.
The release of the video has been delayed at the request of Massey’s family, but was published Monday afternoon to the Illinois State Police’s YouTube account.
SHE CALLED-IN THE POLICE
It shows deputies arriving on Massey’s doorstep in Springfield on July 6, to gather more information and check that her home was secure after she called 911 to report a possible prowler in the area at around 1am.
Just about 21 minutes later, Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson is seen on his partner’s body cam drawing his weapon. He pointed his 9mm pistol at Massey, 36, who was holding a pot of boiling water in the kitchen.
Seconds after telling her to drop that pot, she ducked and said ‘I’m sorry,’ before Grayson fired three shots, one of which struck her in the face. Massey was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
DETAILS OF THE ALTERCATION
The altercation began when deputies first arrived at Massey’s Springfield home, and Grayson noticed there was a pot on the stove – asking his partner to check it out.
‘We don’t need a fire while we’re here,’ Grayson said at the time.
That seemed to have started an argument between Massey and Grayson, who prosecutors say ‘aggressively yelled’ at Massey to move it from the stove to the counter.
She then appeared to take it off the stove and told Grayson, ‘I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.’
This is when Grayson pulled out his handgun and said: ‘I swear to God I’ll shoot you in your f***king face.’
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Both officers – who at that point had their weapons unholstered – ordered her to drop the pot. She then apologized for what she said and ducked behind the counter.
Grayson, who was standing about 10 to 15 feet away in the adjoining living room, then went around the corner of the counter separating the two rooms to regain visual contact with Massey. He tried to tell her to drop the pot, but cut himself off and opened fire.
He then yelled: ‘I can’t take hot boiling water to the f**king face.’
