In the early morning hours of July 6, 2024, Sonya Massey, 36, of Springfield, Illinois, a black woman, was killed in her home by Sean Grayson, 30, who is white.
Massey called 911 to report a possible intruder. Grayson was one of two responding deputies. They didn’t find an intruder, and her family says she had mental issues.
There was a pot of boiling water on the stove, and when one of the cops said “we don’t need a fire while we’re here,” Massey went to the stove, turned it off, and picked up the pot. She then said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” while holding the pot.
Grayson told her to drop the pot. Initial news accounts differed (see stories here and here), but when the officers’ bodycam videos were released, it was clear he not only thought she was going to throw scalding water on him, but it appears she actually did raise the pot over her head and throw water, some of it landing on the floor near where he’d been standing.
He shot her in the head, then told his partner not to bother getting first aid supplies from their vehicles, because “she’s done” (i.e., dead). The sheriff and D.A. subsequently determined it wasn’t justified. Grayson was fired and charged with murder. Subsequently, under pressure to resign, the sheriff took retirement.
There are reasons to believe Grayson was a bad cop:
- The sheriff said he “did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards.”
- Officers are supposed to render aid after a shooting, but according to ABC News (second link above), Grayson “discouraged his partner from retrieving a medical kit to render aid to Massey because he allegedly thought the injuries were too severe to revive her.” That’s not protocol; cops aren’t trained to make medical judgments, such as whether a person is deceased or beyond saving.
- Grayson had a spotty employment record. ABC News says he’s “had six different police jobs in the past four years,” none lasting longer than a year. This is a big red flag. Inquiries to his previous employers would’ve revealed he had a history of lying and bullying (see story here).
Why do police agencies hire these “traveling cops” who bounce from one job to another? Staffing shortages is one reason. Another big reason is they’re already trained, which means they can go to work immediately, and the hiring agency doesn’t have to pay for training. This practice has justifiably come under intense criticism.
But none of this is particularly relevant to the murder charges against Grayson. To convict him a jury has to find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he did not reasonably act in self-defense. Despite the media uproar, and Grayson’s firing and arrest, after reviewing the videos, it looks to me like this may be a suicide-by-cop.
Most elements of a suicide-by-cop are there. She was mentally ill. She called 911 about a prowler that didn’t exist, which quite likely was a ruse to lure police to her home. When they arrived, she didn’t act frightened, excited, or upset as you’d expect of someone calling about a prowler. An amiable conversation with the cops suddenly turned hostile when she said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” She grabbed a weapon, the pot of hot water.
Grayson’s fear seems legitimate. When he told her to drop it, but she instead threw it at him, from a cop’s point of view that’s little different from a homeowner grabbing a knife, or a motorist in a traffic stop pulling a gun. These things happen very fast, and often without any warning signs. A key piece of evidence is whether Massey previously made suicide threats or attempts.
Even without that evidence, I think the prosecution may have difficulty getting a conviction in this case. That doesn’t mean Grayson should return to police duty; with his record, he shouldn’t. Nor does it mean the situation couldn’t have been handled better; it arguably could have.
But this case appears to fall into the gray area of what police are supposed to do when someone with mental problems is trying to provoke them. Maybe cops are too quick to shoot in those cases. Maybe it’s a training issue. Maybe it’s a failure of policing in general. But you don’t send cops to prison for system failures. The question for the jury is simple: Did he reasonably act in self-defense? Everything else is second-guessing or armchair quarterbacking.