The mother of Sonya Massey, a black woman who was fatally shot in the face in her kitchen by a white police officer after she called 911 for help, pleaded with dispatchers not to send a “biased” officer to her daughter’s home.
The mother, Donna Massey, said in a 911 call the day before her daughter’s death that she was afraid the police would “make this situation worse.” She pleaded with the operator, “I don’t want you to hurt her.”
“Please don’t send in belligerent police officers who are biased, please,” the elder Massey said. “I’m afraid of the police. Sometimes they make things worse.”
Donna added that her daughter had a “mental breakdown.”
Massey, 36, a mother of two from Springfield, Illinois, was shot and killed July 6 by Officer Sean Grayson, 30, after Grayson and another officer arrived at her home to investigate a burglary.
According to documents released Wednesday, Sonya called 911 twice in the days leading up to her death.
Her mother Donna, pictured here, said in a phone call the day before her daughter’s death: “Please don’t send belligerent police officers who are biased.”
This undated photo, provided by the family’s attorneys in July 2024, shows Sonya Massey
The distraught mother added: ‘She’s not a danger to herself, she’s not a danger to me.’ She called Massey’s mental episode ‘paranoid schizophrenic’.
The recordings also show that several officers and emergency workers discussed whether Massey had committed suicide.
An official reports in a telephone conversation that the police had fired shots: “They are now saying they caused it themselves.”
Another adds: ‘It is unclear where the incorrect information about the possible suicide came from.
The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department is still trying to determine whether Massey’s history of mental health issues was disclosed to responding officers.
Bodycam footage shows they were unaware. Grayson asked dispatch if there were any reports of calls from Massey that indicated mental health issues.
Such information is passed on if it is known, but there is no built-in mechanism to guarantee this, said Jeff Wilhite, spokesman for Sheriff Jack Campbell.
Wilhite said, “It could happen if the dispatcher knew the calls were connected, but it doesn’t happen automatically.
‘The operator needs to know ‘yes, it’s the same person’ and ‘yes, it’s the same address.’
Massey was shot three times by Grayson earlier this month after she called police to report a burglar
Deputy Sheriff Sean Grayson’s gun drawn as Sonya Massey takes cover in her kitchen on July 6
Grayson’s record was also released, showing that he had been convicted of drunk driving twice within a year, the first of which resulted in his discharge from the military.
His psychological evaluation found him fit to serve, but added: “He knows he can sometimes go too fast. He has to slow down to make good decisions.”
Footage taken the night before Massey’s death shows her greeting officers at her front door, saying “don’t hurt me” and looking confused.
After Grayson ordered her to take a pot of water off the stove, she said to him, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson then points his gun at the mother of two, yelling at her to drop the presumably boiling water, before firing three times, hitting her under her left eye.
Family members said Massey had been struggling with mental health issues and had been receiving treatment for them.
Her son, Malachi Hill Massey, said he and his sister had to live with their fathers because Massey had enrolled in a clinical treatment program.
Grayson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and official misconduct in the killing of Massey
During a press conference, Malachi told the audience that he couldn’t bring himself to watch the bodycam footage that showed his mother’s death
On Friday, Massey’s autopsy findings were released, confirming that she died of a gunshot wound to the head and that she passed away on July 6.
The report was released shortly before civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Massey’s family, condemned the former deputy’s killing as senseless, unnecessary and outrageous.
In addition to the bullet that struck her just below her left eye, Massey also suffered “minor blunt force injuries” to her right leg, the autopsy said.
The bullet fractured her skull and perforated her carotid artery, causing a brain hemorrhage. The bullet exited the skull through the top of her neck.
Grayson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and official misconduct in connection with Massey’s killing.
He was fired from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and is now being held without bail.