Washington (AFP) – A jury began deliberations on Tuesday in the trial of a former Illinois police officer charged with murder for the shooting of a Black woman inside her home. Sonya Massey, 36, a mother of two, was killed in July 2024 in a case that drew national attention and prompted then-US president Joe Biden to say she “should be alive today.” Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, 31, who is white, was charged with first-degree murder and dismissed from the police force.
Prosecutors and Grayson’s defense attorney presented their closing arguments on Tuesday before handing the case off to the jury, local television channel WICS reported. Massey, who had received treatment in the past for mental health issues, had called the 911 emergency line to report a possible intruder in her home, and two Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies arrived shortly after midnight.
Police body camera footage showed Massey talking to the officers and searching through her purse after they asked her for identification. Grayson then asked her to check on a pot of boiling water on the stove, saying, “we don’t need a fire while we’re here.” When Grayson stepped back into the living room, Massey asked why, and he responded with a laugh: “Away from your hot steaming water.”
Holding the pot, Massey responded, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus” – prompting the deputy to draw his weapon and say: “You better fucking not. I swear to God I’ll fucking shoot you in your fucking face.” Apologizing, Massey crouched behind a counter as the officer screamed, “drop the fucking pot” and fired three shots, killing Massey with a bullet to the face.
Grayson took the stand during his trial and testified that he had felt threatened by the pot of boiling water Massey was holding. Assistant state’s attorney Mary Beth Rodgers dismissed his claim during closing arguments. “She wasn’t threatening him,” WICS quoted Rodgers as telling the jury. “She was complying.”
The Sangamon County Board approved a $10 million settlement with Massey’s estate earlier this year. The United States was rocked by protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer in Minnesota. Floyd’s death revived scrutiny of race relations and sparked calls for police reform.
© 2024 AFP
