Deputy who shot Sonya Massey thought her rebuke ‘in the name of Jesus’ indicated intent to kill him

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — The deputy sheriff who fatally shot Sonya Massey in her Illinois home last month said he believed that when the Black woman who called 911 for help unexpectedly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” that she intended to inflict lethal harm, according to the deputy’s field report released Monday.

“I interpreted this as her going to kill me,” Grayson wrote, adding that when he drew his gun and Massey ducked behind a counter between them, he moved around the obstacle out of fear she would reach for a weapon.

Grayson, a 30-year-old Sangamon County deputy sheriff, is accused of first-degree murderaggravated assault and official misconduct in the July 6 death of the 36-year-old Springfield woman, which has sparked nationwide protests over the killing of Black people in their homes by police. Grayson has pleaded not guiltyHis attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.

Massey’s family has called for the resignation of Sheriff Jack Campbell, who has refused to resign — claiming that problems in Grayson’s past should have ruled out a law enforcement assignment. The family has hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment via phone, email or text message.

Grayson and a second unidentified officer responded to her call about a suspected intruder just before 1 a.m. Inside her home, Grayson ordered a pot of water to be removed from a burner on the stove. Grayson and Massey laughed together as he cautiously walked away from the “hot steaming water.”

“Sonya turned to me holding the pot. I didn’t know what kind of liquid was boiling,” Grayson wrote in his report three days after the incident.

“I advised Sonya to put down the boiling liquid. Sonya said she would rebuke me in the name of Jesus. She said this twice. I interpreted this as her killing me.”

Massey’s family has said that Sonya Massey struggled with mental health issuesShe met the officers at her front door by repeating, “Please God,” and inside the house she asked Grayson to give her a Bible.

When Grayson heard the religious admonition, he pulled out his gun and shouted orders to “drop the (expletive) pot.” Massey ducked behind the counter, stood up and appeared to grab the pot again before running for cover. Grayson said he walked up to the counter and around it to keep Massey in sight, fearing she might have a concealed weapon.

“As I approached the closet, Sonya stood up from a crouched position, grabbed the pot, lifted it above her head and threw the boiling substance at me,” Grayson said. “I was afraid that I would get boiling liquid in my face or chest, which could have caused serious bodily injury or death.”

It’s not clear from the video whether Massey was trying to throw away the contents of the pan, and she was out of sight when Grayson fired three 9mm rounds, one of which hit Massey just below the eye. His report then states that he looked down and saw that the liquid “had hit my boots and I saw steam coming from the cabinet area.”

By the time he completed the field report on July 9, Grayson had been placed on administrative leave. The document indicates that he had received department permission to view the bodycam video, much of which was recorded on the other officer’s body camera. Grayson said he thought his was on when the two first encountered Massey at the door, but he didn’t turn it on until just after the shooting.

The other officer’s report was not included in the release, which also included reports from seven other officers about their activities at the scene of the shooting. Those reports were all completed on July 6, and one on July 7. The reports had been largely redacted before release by an officer who had had an informal conversation with someone who knew Massey.