A body camera recorded the moment when police shot and killed Sonya Massey, who was 36 years old, in her home in Springfield, Illinois.
Massey called the police because she believed an intruder was in her home.
The footage, released by Illinois State Police on Monday, July 22 and obtained by The New York Times, showed two deputies arriving at Massey’s home on the morning of July 6. They looked around the front and back of her house, then knocked on her door and went inside with her.
While inside, Massey sat on a sofa and the deputies asked for her ID. Later, she got up to take a pot of hot water off the stove. According to The Times, she said to the deputies, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson then threatened to shoot her in the face. Within moments, he pulled out his gun and told her to drop the pot. Grayson fired two shots at her. He then used his radio to report a woman with a gunshot wound to her head.
The Illinois State Police released the video but blurred it. NBC News edited the video to remove upsetting scenes.
After the video came out, President Joe Biden criticized the killing of Massey and praised the Springfield State’s Attorney’s office for charging Sean Grayson, a former deputy sheriff from Sangamon County, with murder.
Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
The Attorney’s Office told the New York Times that the evidence showed Grayson did not have a good reason to use deadly force.
President Biden also said in his statement that Massey “should be alive today” and emphasized that every American should be able to call for help “without fearing for our lives.” He continued, “Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”
The President also expressed being “heartbroken” for Massey’s “children and her entire family” due to this “unthinkable and senseless loss,".
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker stated on Wednesday that Massey had feared for her safety and called 911 for help. “Instead, innocent and unarmed, she was gunned down by an officer of the law,” he said, adding: “I am enraged that another innocent Black woman had her life taken from her at the hands of a police officer.”
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