IL - Sonya Massey Shot To Death In Her Own Home by Sangamon County Deputy After Calling to Report a Prowler, Springfield 6 July 2024

[tlcya]

Biden said he and First lady Jill Biden "mourn with the rest of the country and our prayers are with Sonya’s family, loved ones, and community during this devastating time."

"Sonya’s family deserves justice," Biden added. "I am heartbroken for her children and her entire family as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss."

U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, said she was "shocked, horrified and heartbroken" by the footage and said the incident was "an act of senseless and unjustifiable violence — and it is an affront to our humanity."

Other Illinois lawmakers weighed in, too. Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, said "Nothing could prepare our community to see such a blatant disregard for human life" and urged people to come together "to seek justice and do all we can to prevent another Black man or woman from being unjustly killed."

Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said he was "shocked and horrified" by the footage and that even during his years serving as a prosecutor "I never saw anything like this."
[snip]
Illinois State Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a statement in response to the body camera footage, calling it "horrific."
'Horrifying': Officials, lawmakers, Biden react to deputy shooting Sonya Massey

 

[sunflowermomma]

I can't stop thinking about how the second officer did eventually try to render aid. Sonya was still alive, still gasping for air. She spent her last moments bleeding out on that kitchen floor, being told (by her murderer) that she was not worth "wasting supplies" on.

Perhaps the second officer, visibly and audibly shaken by witnessing this murder, felt that trying to stop the bleeding was the only thing he could do to help. HIs experience is going to be instrumental in SG's trial. I wish him all the strength in testifying. MOO.

And the other officer correctly had his body camera turned on. The perpetrator turned it on AFTER he killed her.

 

[tlcya]

The thing I find most disturbing is that Massey was likely having a mental health crisis, as she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. People with psychiatric disorders are so vulnerable and are encouraged to utilize police and medical services to keep them safe. In this case, it directly led to Massey's death.

Body-cam video shows Illinois officer fatally shooting Black woman in face

A white deputy, Sean Grayson, shot Sonya Massey, who called police in fear of a home intruder, after boiling water dispute

www.theguardian.com

Sangamon county, along with others in the region, has a crisis hotline with 24 hour counselors offered through Memorial hospitals. The team is comprised of mobile crisis response providers who work closely with LE. They respond WITH LE when there is a known or suspected mental health issue. They are called to the scene when LEOs determine after arriving that there may be a mental health related problem. Deputy Grayson, and the other deputy, if they suspected Sonya was having a mental health crisis could have called and within minutes the on call counselor would have come to the house and helped assess Sonya's state of mind.

This is what SHOULD have happened. Instead Sonya is dead.
Behavioral Health | Mental Health | Memorial Health
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://williamsville.illinois.gov/uploads/2/6/0/5/26052373/mobile_crisis_response.pdf

 

[Mack the Knife]

I thought there was lengthy psychological testing required to be hired as law enforcement? What does this county use in their process?

It's disturbing that the kind of person to not only do this but also refuse to assist with first-aid manages to make it through the hiring process time and again.

I read an article recently about a Sheriff's department in California. One of the deputies shot and killed his girlfriend and her possibly-estranged husband, and it was discovered that on his pre-hire psychological evaluation, he received a grade of "D. Not Suited". Despite California law prohibiting the hiring of candidates who are "D. Not Suited", this department had 47 peace officers who were evaluated as such, that they then had to put on leave. So not only did they hire people who were plainly stated as psychologically not suited, they broke the law in doing so.

I have very little faith that police departments are making sure that they not only hire psychologically sound officers, but that they are doing the work to make sure the officers stay that way. We all know that law enforcement is a difficult job and that there is a selection bias wherein they have disproportionately negative interactions with people, but it is unacceptable to allow officers to become jaded and start creating the negative interactions.

 

[georgiajean]

These images are from the shooter's camera, at Min 28. After she has dropped down, hands raised in air, and officer advances forward, yelling at her to drop the pot (which is on the counter).


First image, can see her starting to rise up into view again. Arms are reaching towards her right side, up towards the counter.


Second image, can see Pot in her hands, coming over her right shoulder.


Third image, can see pot being thrown with her right hand, left hand has let go of pot.

 

[georgiajean]

I can’t imagine how terrifying that would be—hands in the air, LEOs pointing guns, yelling at you, advancing on you—she had complied with what they wanted (putting the pot down) but they were escalating anyway. What did they want her to do? They gave no further instructions, and if I were her I might well have grabbed the pot of water and thrown it because it didn’t seem like there were any other options.

I quoted this piece because I can see this scenario, too. She is trying to comply, and she is in a confused mental state (the LE kept telling her to focus on one thing at a time, and now there is a LOT of energy in the room, threats of violence, etc). She grabs the pot and throws it away from her.