Family alleges cover-up of Illinois deputy shooting that killed Sonya Massey

CHICAGO (CBS) — The family of Sonya Massey demanded justice on Tuesday, claiming authorities tried to cover up the fatal shooting of Massey by a deputy sheriff.

Then-Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson is now charged with Massey’s murder.

The family said if the bodycam video of the shooting had not been released on Monday, no one would know the truth.

The fatal police shooting occurred early in the morning of Saturday, July 6The bodycam video shows Grayson and his partner arriving after Sonya Massey called 911 to report a possible burglar outside her home.

In the bodycam video, officers are first seen searching outside the home and speaking to Massey at the front door. They are later seen inside her home, and Deputy Grayson tells Massey to check an overheated pot on the stove because they don’t need a fire in the house.

Massey tried to put out the flame and picked up the pot. She asked where the officers were going, to which Grayson replied, “Away from your hot, steamy water.”

Massey replied, “Away from my hot, steaming water?” and then said twice, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

“You shouldn’t fucking do that. I swear to God, I’ll shoot you right in the fucking face,” Grayson said. Then he raised his gun and yelled at Massey to “drop the damn pot!”

Massey is seen apologizing and taking cover. Grayson opens fire – three shots are heard.

Massey’s family made the comments Tuesday at a press conference with their attorney, Ben Crump, after meeting with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker that morning to call for legislation to improve policing.

Massey’s 17-year-old son and his mother met with CBS News Tuesday afternoon.

“A good mother. She was very smart and always helped everyone but herself. Honestly, just a bundle of love to me. She cooked me the best food. I love her food, honestly,” said Malachi Hill-Massey, Sonya Massey’s son. “She’s just the most loving person ever. I don’t know. That’s the person that just made me feel so loved.”

Massey’s son and mother said police were not transparent about the incident.

“They said the case was under investigation, then they said they told the doctors at the hospital she committed suicide – and then they changed the story,” said Sonya Massey’s mother, Donna Massey. “They kept changing the story.”

Malachi Hill-Massey agreed that the family had received conflicting information.

“Yes, because they told her, but they called – the hospital just told me that someone shot her, so they’re just telling everyone a different story,” he said. “We’re definitely going to get justice. I know it. That’s for sure.”

Meanwhile, David Harris, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and an expert on use of force, said officers’ first mistake was entering Massey’s home.

“This never had to happen,” he said. “The whole encounter could have ended on the porch.”

Harris also said Massey posed no threat to officers when Grayson pulled out his gun and shot them.

“She simply says, while holding the water jug, ‘I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,'” Harris said. “That’s not a threat. That’s not a sign of danger. But that causes one of the officers to draw his weapon.”

Harris reiterated that there was no apparent reason for Grayson to shoot Massey.

“We know who fired the shot. We can’t see any reason for it. We can’t see how the victim provoked the shooting, and that’s all — because one of the officers was equipped with a camera that was on,” Harris said. “Even if you could somehow argue that a pot of hot water from the stove could be used to threaten someone or use it as a weapon, that’s not what happened here.”

Sharon Fairley, a law professor at the University of Chicago and former director of the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates Chicago police shootings, also noted that the situation escalated quickly.

“I didn’t see anything in that video that made me think she posed that kind of threat to the officer,” Fairley said. “It appears they immediately used deadly force.”

Fairley reviewed the bodycam footage and also said the video did not contain anything that would justify deadly force.

“Would any reasonable officer, under these circumstances, interpret that particular phrase as a threat?” Fairley said of Massey’s remark: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. I don’t think so.”

Grayson has worked for six different law enforcement agencies since 2020. CBS News has learned that Grayson, a former Army Private First Class, also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in 2015 and 2016.

“Why was he hired by the sheriff’s department in the first place?” Crump said.

In Illinois, a conviction for drunk driving does not automatically disqualify a person from being a police officer.

Grayson’s attorney declined to comment.

Massey’s father, James Wilburn, also called for the resignation of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell. The sheriff told CBS News he has no plans to resign.