Was There An Attempted Cover-Up of Sonya Massey’s Murder?
Recent audio obtained by Justin Glawe of America Doom and initial police statements suggest a possible cover-up of Sonya Massey’s murder
On July 6, Sonya Massey called police to report a suspected prowler outside her home. Two Sangamon County, Illinois sheriff’s deputies responded to the call. Bodycam footage shows police searching around Massey’s home before knocking on her door. Shortly after, Massey was dead after Deputy Sean Grayson shot her in the face for no justifiable reason.
The harrowing footage shows Massey’s murder by a cop who had a troubling history over just a few years (including two DUIs) with at least six police departments in Illinois. This highlights a fairly common practice in law enforcement as officers fired for misconduct are often hired by police departments in different cities and counties who overlook their previous history. It’s a problem that has been discussed in-depth over the years.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, someone at the scene reported Massey’s death as a suicide. According to police radio traffic obtained by Justin Glawe of America Doom, you can hear someone saying that Massey’s death was “self-inflicted”. Whether this was intentional or based on an officer being misinformed remains to be seen.
Initial statements by police, including telling the mother that Massey’s injuries were self-inflicted, however, indicate possible intent. The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the shooting likely prompted by these revelations.
I won’t post the footage here as it can be found everywhere online and is difficult to watch. Many have been sharing the clip on social media in what has been described as murder porn. Instead, I will provide a summary of what occurred after watching the video multiple times. What it shows is yet another case of outright depravity by someone tasked with protecting and serving the public – a wicked degeneration that is undoubtedly a growing trend in law enforcement.
How It Happened
Two Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies responded to a call at Massey’s home to investigate reports of a possible prowler. Bodycam footage shows the deputies searching around the area before knocking on Massey’s door to speak with her. After knocking, the video shows her having minor difficulty responding to some of the questions.
One officer asks, “Are you doing alright, mentally?”
Massey replied, “Yes, I took my medicine.”
According to various reports, Massey’s family has confirmed that she had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Court documents filed by prosecutors said Massey appeared to be “calm, possibly unwell, and non-aggressive”.
Deputy Grayson entered her house, followed shortly by the other officer and both officers can be observed talking with Massey. The officers interrogated Massey and asked for her ID. It remains unclear why this happened. During questioning, the officers noticed a pot of boiling water on the stove and prompted Massey to move to the kitchen to turn it off.
“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” one deputy says.
Neither officer seems to have an issue with her going to get the pot and turn off the stove. But as soon as she grabbed the pot they started moving away and she asked where they were going.
“Away from your hot steaming water,” one officer says.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she answers.
“Huh?” the deputy says.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she repeats.
“You better fucking not or I swear to God I’ll fucking shoot you in the fucking face,” Grayson tells her.
He then pulls out his 9mm pistol and aims it at her as she ducks behind the kitchen counter and says, “I’m sorry.” Both officers are then seen yelling at her to “Drop the fucking pot” despite her not having the pot in her hands. At this moment, Grayson took at least two steps toward her as she tried to move away. Grayson fired his weapon shooting Massey three times, with a fatal shot to her head.
He is then heard reporting the shooting over the radio. The video shows his partner saying they should get the medical kit and try to help her. Grayson’s depravity is noted.
“She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot,” Grayson responds.
Explaining himself to the responding police officers, you can hear Grayson say, “She had boiling water and came at me, with boiling water.” Video footage showed this is a lie. His partner then grabbed a towel, leaned towards Massey, and said, “She’s still gasping a little bit”.
It took 26 minutes after the shooting for Massey to be taken to a hospital emergency room where she was pronounced dead.
Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris issued the following statement:
“Sonya Massey deserved to be safe. After she called the police for help, she was tragically killed in her own home at the hands of a responding officer sworn to protect and serve. Doug and I send strength and prayers to Sonya’s family and friends, and we join them in grieving her senseless death.
“Our thoughts are also with the communities across our nation whose calls for help are often met with suspicion, distrust, and even violence. The disturbing footage released yesterday confirms what we know from the lived experiences of so many – we have much work to do to ensure that our justice system fully lives up to its name.
“I join President Biden in commending the swift action of the State’s Attorney’s Office and in calling on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a bill that I coauthored in the Senate. In this moment, in honor of Sonya’s memory and the memory of so many more whose names we may never know, we must come together to achieve meaningful reforms that advance the safety of all communities.”
Currently, police are killing citizens at a record-setting pace in 2024 with over 730 killed so far – 56 more through June compared to the same period last year.
I’m a freelance writer and journalist for Capitol Press, The Antagonist Magazine, and Unicorn Riot. Find me on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work become a paid subscriber or donate on Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp
Coverup, good catch. That’s what the killer cops learn when they train, in what the ICJ ruled, is the genocidal occupation, and communities of color are paying the price, and being blamed for their erasure, because the killers, hired despite past human right violations as you point out, claim the right to self defense.