White sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, who killed unarmed black mom Sonya Massey in her kitchen after she reported a suspected prowler, needed ‘high stress decision making classes’
The white sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed unarmed black mother Sonya Massey in her kitchen after she reported a suspected burglar once needed “lessons in how to make stressful decisions.”
Sean Grayson, 30, was given the commendation by the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois after he failed to slow down when his boss called off a chase, CNN reports.
He was driving about 110 mph (177 km/h) and struck a deer, just a few years before he shot the 36-year-old mother in her kitchen over a pot of boiling water on July 6, according to sheriff’s office documents.
“Officer Grayson pursued the truck at a high rate of speed through Lincoln, reaching speeds of 63/30 MPH, and in my opinion failed to exercise due care when passing through intersections where a stop was required,” the deputy wrote at the time.
Sean Grayson, 30, was taken into custody by the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois, which recommended he “take classes in high stress decision making”
The report noted that Grayson’s supervisor ended the chase and Grayson turned off his flashing lights.
He then ‘continued driving at a high rate of speed (177/98 km/h) before striking the deer.’
“Deputy Grayson acknowledged that he has a lack of experience,” the report said.
A series of recommendations would then be made, including “additional training in traffic stops, training in report writing, courses in decision making under stressful circumstances, and the need to read, understand and discuss the Logan County Sheriff’s Office’s published policies.”
It is unclear whether Grayson ever followed these recommendations.
In April 2023, he resigned from the Logan County sheriff’s office and the following month he joined the Sangamon County sheriff’s office, where he shot Massey in the face.
The incident occurred just a few years before Grayson shot and killed 36-year-old Sonya Massey.
Massey was shot three times by Grayson earlier this month after she called police to report a burglar. She had a pot of water on the stove when he arrived, which Grayson asked her to turn off and threatened to shoot her
Massey, 36, who had mental health issues, called police to her Springfield, Illinois, home in the early hours of July 6 to report a burglar in the area. Two Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies responded to the call.
After searching the area for 30 minutes and finding no suspect, the two went inside Massey’s home and started talking to her.
They then found a pot of boiling water on the stove. Grayson asked her to turn the pot off and threatened to shoot her.
Bodycam footage shows the young woman bending down and apologizing as the officer fires three shots.
A autopsy has now determined that Massey was shot in the face below her left eye, fracturing her skull and puncturing her carotid artery.
As a result, she began bleeding in her brain before the bullet exited her neck.
Massey also suffered minor injuries to her right leg from a blunt object, the coroner said.
Grayson has been since fired from the police force and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and government misconduct in connection with Massey’s death.
The former deputy sheriff, who lost his job over the shooting, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is currently being held in the county jail as he awaits trial.
Sonya Massey, 36, was a loving mother of two who struggled with mental health issues
What led to the shooting of Sonya Massey
Sean Grayson and another Sangamon County deputy were called to Sonya Massey’s home at 12:50 a.m. on July 6 for a suspected burglary.
The two officers searched the outside of the house for 30 minutes and found only a car with smashed windows.
During her conversations with the officers, Massey repeatedly mentioned Jesus Christ and the Bible.
Massey, on Grayson’s instructions, had placed a pan of possibly hot water on the counter.
The victim made a comment about “rebuking” Grayson in the name of Jesus Christ.
Grayson was in the living room when he pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot Massey in the face, at which point she threw her hands up in the air and said, “I’m sorry.”
Massey takes cover behind a counter that separates the two.
Grayson approached, yelled at Massey to put down the pan and opened fire, hitting her three times, once in the head.
Grayson did not provide assistance and advised the other deputy not to provide assistance either.
The second deputy, who was not named, remained with Massey until doctors arrived. She was pronounced dead at St. John’s Hospital.
But this isn’t Grayson’s first foray into misconduct on the job. His discharge from the military was listed as “misconduct (serious offense),” according to documents obtained by ABC news.
The military declined to release further information about Grayson’s firing, citing the Privacy Act and Defense Department policy that prohibits releasing information about the conduct of low-level employees.
Grayson worked as a wheeled vehicle mechanic in the Army from May 2014 to February 2016 and left the Army with the rank of private first class, a spokesperson told ABC News.
While serving in the military, he was charged with drunken driving in Illinois in August 2015 and again in the same county shortly after his discharge in July 2016, ABC News reported.
Documents show he paid thousands of dollars in fines for the tort and his car was impounded after the 2015 incident.
Grayson has also served in several police departments, working for six agencies in four years.
His first law enforcement job was with the Pawnee Police Department, where he worked part-time between August 2020 and July 2021, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB).
He also worked for the Kincaid Police Department from February 2021 to May 2021, and for the Virden Police Department from May 2021 to December 2021. In both cases, these were part-time positions.
Grayson held full-time positions with the Auburn Police Department from July 2021 through May 2022 and with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office from May 2022 through April 2023.
According to ILETSB, he started at Sangamon County in May 2023.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents Massey’s family, now questions why Grayson “worked for the sheriff in the first place.”
In a statement announcing Grayson’s resignationLogan County Sheriff Jack Campbell said it was “clear the officer did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards.
In a follow-up statement on July 22, the sheriff wrote, “Grayson had other options available to him that he should have pursued. His actions were inexcusable and do not reflect the values or training of our office. He will now be judged by the criminal justice system and will never work in law enforcement again.”
“Ms Massey lost her life unnecessarily, and her family deserves answers. I trust the legal process will provide them.”