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Officials in Illinois’ capital plan to release video on Monday of police entering the home of a woman who called 911 for help and the violent scene that ensued when a sheriff’s deputy shot her in the face.
The Illinois State Police announced that Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser will release body-worn camera clips of the July 6 incident that left 36-year-old Sonya Massey dead and prompted first-degree murder charges against former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson.
Ben Crump, the noted civil rights attorney who is representing Massey’s family, told the crowd at her funeral in Springfield on Friday that the video would reveal a crime as startling as the 1955 lynching of Chicago teenager Emmitt Till in Mississippi, the Chicago police shooting of Laquan McDonald and the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
“It is going to shock the conscience of America. It is that senseless, that unnecessary, that unjustifiable, that unconstitutional,” Crump said. “This sheriff’s deputy was twice as large as Sonya. Why would you have to use a gun to shoot her in the head?”
Crump, who plans a news conference with family members following the video release, is on his second sojourn in Springfield, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. He has also represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man who died after he was strapped face-down on a stretcher in December 2022. Two emergency medical professionals face murder charges in that case.
Authorities said Massey, who is Black, called 911 in the early morning hours to report a suspected prowler. Grayson entered the house with another deputy, noticed a pot on the stove and gave Massey permission to move it. When she put it on a counter, Grayson allegedly pulled his 9mm pistol and threatened to shoot her. She reportedly apologized and ducked for cover, but Grayson approached and shot her, prosecutors said.
Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. A telephone message was left for Grayson's attorney, Daniel Fultz.
Massey's death prompted subsequent protests demanding justice in the case. Echoing that call at her funeral, Massey's father, James Wilburn, said he's encouraged by the speed with which the Illinois State Police, which investigated the incident, and Milhiser acted.
“In 10 days, they convened a grand jury. They completed their investigation. They arrested, they got him fired,” Wilburn said. “That's unheard of."
