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

[MollyDDD]

In the bodycam footage, SG tells his partner to not bother, not waste supplies because he got a "headshot". He wasn't directly telling SM that she wasn't worth saving, but she was still there, still breathing, still alive.

Kind of like being talked about in 3rd person when you're standing right there. MOO.

Ugh. That’s horrible. I was told that our hearing is the last sense to go before we die. My Mom used to say to me, so be sure you talk to me when I die.

 

[PinkButtercup]

It looks like the inside of the pot to me so her hand must have gotten burned from the boiling water when she threw it at the Officer. IMO

I don't believe that she threw the pot of water AT the Officer, I think she was trying to 'drop' it (onto the floor?) with one hand, as instructed.
MOO

 

[MollyDDD]

Massey’s daughter, Jeanette “Summer” Massey, said her mother was previously diagnosed as having schizophrenia with paranoia.
Sonya Massey’s father calls for Jack Campbell to resign

In the news conference Monday, along with members of her family, Crump said Massey had mental health challenges but was not aggressive toward the deputies.

“She needed a helping hand,” he said. “She didn’t need a bullet to the face.”
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/22/us/sonya-massey-police-shooting/index.html

You’re right, she needed family to take care of her.

 

[MollyDDD]

I don't believe that she threw the pot of water AT the Officer, I think she was trying to 'drop' it (onto the floor?) with one hand, as instructed.
MOO

Possibly, but from a police officers point of view, he could have feared that she had hidden a loaded gun on the floor behind that counter top and shot him. They want to go home to their family too.

 

[mzmarymac]

Does anyone know if the officer was given any drug or alcohol testing at the scene? Would that be standard protocol (or particularly because of his DUI history?) I am usually pro-blue, but when you see something like this it shakes your soul. I've seen the video several times and he literally shot her with her holding two pot holders with her hands in the air and dropping to her knees, leaving the hot pot on the counter. It's unreal. Why in the world would he ever think it would be justified to open fire on this sweet, confused little woman? I have no idea if racism is in his heart and perhaps that may come out in the investigation. But he certainly had anger in his heart in order to react to the situation like this. Hot boiling water? Yes, I realize it can be scary and no one wants to get hit with it, but how difficult would it be to just jump out of the way of it? Total psycho. JMO

 

[Henry2326]

Possibly, but from a police officers point of view, he could have feared that she had hidden a loaded gun on the floor behind that counter top and shot him. They want to go home to their family too.

I watched the video. There is nothing in her actions that supports the officer blowing her away. Just nothing.....

 

[Marantz4250b]

Ugh. That’s horrible. I was told that our hearing is the last sense to go before we die. My Mom used to say to me, so be sure you talk to me when I die.

His words both before and after shooting her are barely believable, quite frankly. He has some very serious mental health or personality problems. That's my somewhat uneducated opinion but I doubt I'm too far from the truth.

What he said was utterly callous and uncaring. Not my opinion, there, simply fact.

 

[iamshadow21]

Possibly, but from a police officers point of view, he could have feared that she had hidden a loaded gun on the floor behind that counter top and shot him. They want to go home to their family too.

If a police officer is acting in such a reactive way, then he shouldn't be a police officer. LE have training specifically so they can handle stressful or dangerous situations without resorting to deadly force.

All I'm seeing from this case is an angry man who wanted to kill someone, did, then showed nothing but contempt for his victim as she struggled to breathe whilst she died. That isn't a police officer, that is a murderer in a uniform, and murderers belong in prison.

MOO

 

[Marantz4250b]

I don't believe that she threw the pot of water AT the Officer, I think she was trying to 'drop' it (onto the floor?) with one hand, as instructed.
MOO

You are probably right but even if there were no doubt that she was throwing water at him then what difference does it make? He was in very little danger; there was a waist height wall between them and he could easily have backed away. Even if some of the boiling water had got to him, the way we all know how water thrown from a pot passes through the air, it would likely have been very little that actually reached him. He stood very little risk of injury and almost certainly nothing permanent.

He was completely and utterly out of control and didn't seem to give any care as to what the outcome would be.

 

[Henry2326]

His words both before and after shooting her are barely believable, quite frankly. He has some very serious mental health or personality problems. That's my somewhat uneducated opinion but I doubt I'm too far from the truth.

What he said was utterly callous and uncaring. Not my opinion, there, simply fact.

My reaction to her comment was she felt something bad was about to happen. IMO She said it twice.
"I rebuke you in the name of Jesus"......

 

[Marantz4250b]

Does anyone know if the officer was given any drug or alcohol testing at the scene? Would that be standard protocol (or particularly because of his DUI history?) I am usually pro-blue, but when you see something like this it shakes your soul. I've seen the video several times and he literally shot her with her holding two pot holders with her hands in the air and dropping to her knees, leaving the hot pot on the counter. It's unreal. Why in the world would he ever think it would be justified to open fire on this sweet, confused little woman? I have no idea if racism is in his heart and perhaps that may come out in the investigation. But he certainly had anger in his heart in order to react to the situation like this. Hot boiling water? Yes, I realize it can be scary and no one wants to get hit with it, but how difficult would it be to just jump out of the way of it? Total psycho. JMO

Absolutely agree.

On the racism point; from what we know and have seen, I cannot see how anyone arrives at the conclusion that this was a racially motivated act. The media are getting out of hand with their click-bait nonsense, quite honestly.

I mean, perhaps it'll come out that he's the biggest racist in the department but there's nothing in the video that shows that so it's just people whipping up a storm as far as I can see.

 

[sds71]

James Wilburn said that the family was “never told” it had been a police shooting and they were “under the impression” that “she was killed by the intruder” and that police had found her dead. He said that they were even “misled” to think that she had died from “self-inflicted wounds.”

When asked about what his daughter meant when she told the cops the words, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Wilburn said, “I think that she feared for her life. There was something, some premonition that she had … It’s just unexplainable.”

Sonya Massey’s Father Says Family Was 'Misled' About How Daughter Died, Calls Video 'Heart-Wrenching'

Sonya Massey’s father James Wilburn recently said the family was initially led to believe that his daughter was killed by an intruder and not police.

people.com

 

[amandab]

I'll never understand why a taser isn't a primary weapon in situations like this, and lethal force a last resort. :/

 

[Marantz4250b]

If a police officer is acting in such a reactive way, then he shouldn't be a police officer. LE have training specifically so they can handle stressful or dangerous situations without resorting to deadly force.

All I'm seeing from this case is an angry man who wanted to kill someone, did, then showed nothing but contempt for his victim as she struggled to breathe whilst she died. That isn't a police officer, that is a murderer in a uniform, and murderers belong in prison.

MOO

Absolutely agreed.

Once again, over the coming weeks and months I think we'll see the inevitable litany of previous completely unacceptable behavior surfacing about this utter lunatic.

His employers are going to have a lot to answer for, IMO.

 

[Henry2326]

Sonya Massey’s Father Says Family Was 'Misled' About How Daughter Died, Calls Video 'Heart-Wrenching'​

James Wilburn told CBS Mornings that the footage, which showed the key moments between Massey and Sean Grayson, who was a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, that led to her death in early July was very difficult for the family to watch.

"It's probably the most horrible, heart-wrenching thing that we've ever seen in our lives, but if it were not for the body cam footage, we would not have known that this occurred," Wilburn told the outlet.

He said that the family was “never told” it had been a police shooting and they were “under the impression” that “she was killed by the intruder” and that police had found her dead. He said that they were even “misled” to think that she had died from “self-inflicted wounds.”

Sonya Massey’s Father Says Family Was 'Misled' About How Daughter Died, Calls Video 'Heart-Wrenching'

Sonya Massey’s father James Wilburn recently said the family was initially led to believe that his daughter was killed by an intruder and not police.

people.com

 

[iamshadow21]

Absolutely agree.

On the racism point; from what we know and have seen, I cannot see how anyone arrives at the conclusion that this was a racially motivated act. The media are getting out of hand with their click-bait nonsense, quite honestly.

I mean, perhaps it'll come out that he's the biggest racist in the department but there's nothing in the video that shows that so it's just people whipping up a storm as far as I can see.

Black mentally ill people are 2.8 times more likely to be killed by police than white mentally ill people. There is a greater risk shown by the numbers of deaths, whether the shooter is a conscious racist or not.

Deaths Due to Use of Lethal Force by Law Enforcement: Findings From the National Violent Death Reporting System, 17 U.S. States, 2009–2012

Several high-profile cases in the U.S. have drawn public attention to the use of lethal force by law enforcement (LE), yet research on such fatalities is limited. Using data from a public health surveillance system, this study examined the characteristics ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[MollyDDD]

His words both before and after shooting her are barely believable, quite frankly. He has some very serious mental health or personality problems. That's my somewhat uneducated opinion but I doubt I'm too far from the truth.

What he said was utterly callous and uncaring. Not my opinion, there, simply fact.

I was shocked that he used that vulgar language towards her. I mean, he’s supposed to be the protector of the law and should be trained to communicate appropriately according to the situation. I think when she said to him, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ”, that seemed to really trigger him. IMO Damn, couldn’t he have just maced her if he was so angry!

 

[tlcya]

Possibly, but from a police officers point of view, he could have feared that she had hidden a loaded gun on the floor behind that counter top and shot him. They want to go home to their family too.

then he shouldn't have directed her to go remove the pot from the stove because "we don't want a fire" moo

ETA it seems from the body cam footage that he escalated the situation at every opportunity

 

[Marantz4250b]

I'll never understand why a taser isn't a primary weapon in situations like this, and lethal force a last resort. :/

I'm sure that the training would say that it is/should be. There was absolutely zero reason for his gun to be out of its holster.

I don't think this guy liked being told how to behave, though.

 

[sds71]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/23/us/sonya-massey-police-shooting-what-went-wrong/index.html

What happened: When the deputies are inside the home speaking with Massey, they note a pot of boiling water on the lit stove, and Massey gets up and moves to the kitchen to turn off the heat and take the pot off the stove.

“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” one deputy says.

Neither officer has any issue with her going over to get the pot, the video shows.

What the experts say: “Again, this appears a missed opportunity that could have ensured a much different ending,” Campbell said. “If time allows, officers are trained to observe the totality of a situation and to assess multiple possible outcomes for any public interaction. Allowing someone potentially in crisis near a dangerous object is recipe for a negative outcome.”

Miller noted this moment as an issue of controlling the subject and the scene.

“They allow her to walk over to a pot of boiling water,” he said. “If they believed she constituted some kind of threat, they could have called her over to them, and one of the officers could’ve walked over, turned off the stove and poured the water out.”