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

[branmuffin]

I mentioned this case and Sonya's "rebuke" phrase to my husband. He was raised a devout Catholic, and he instantly thought she intended to throw the boiling water on the officer, because apparently that phrase is what a Catholic says before throwing holy water on someone. While I don't think Sonya intended to threaten the officer, it makes it more understandable that he thought she was.

Just a completely different perspective, and one I never knew about.

Still doesn't explain why he didn't just back out of her house and leave her alone, though.
"Heya...look, we're done here and none of us need to do anything we can't undo. There's no sign of a prowler and we LEOs have other places to be, so we'll see ourselves out now. You take care and call us again if you feel you need to."

As a former Catholic I do not remember that phrase being used other than a version of it in the Confirmation ceremony (Do you renounce Satan, and all his works and empty promises?). Or if a priest is dousing someone who has been taken over by Satan, but the only time I ever saw that was in the Exorcist. I believe the phrase is much more likely to be used by Christian Evangelists and other religious groups like Baptists.

 

[UrsulaWrenn]

When I was a small child I overheard my parents talking about a police officer who shot a small child several times because the tot was playing with his Dad's keys. Apparently "I thought my life was in danger" worked and he was acquitted. I've searched the web a few times for the scant details I recall -which may be completely erroneous as it was more years ago than I care to admit- but all I find are other stories of police shootings.
Problem is, of course, that if someone hates or is afraid of small children, dogs, elderly people, homeless people, mentally ill people, the blind and the rebellious, they're not suitable to be police officers. Whether they realize it when they sign up or not, wearing a badge and a gun will not make them kind or brave; it will only make their aversions and fears stronger.

 

[Marantz4250b]

Sean Grayson, officer charged in Sonya Massey shooting, had disciplinary record: "He was acting like a bully"

Sean Grayson, the now-fired Illinois sheriff's deputy charged with killing 36-year-old Sonya Massey in her own home, had a disciplinary file that included accusations of bullying and abuse of power, records obtained by CBS News show.

www.cbsnews.com

Article with some new details about Grayson's disciplinary record. The article is worth the read. Confirms what we all know: he should not have been a police officer.
Snipped by me:
"He was acting like a bully," Girard (Illinois) Police Chief Wayman Meredith said over the phone, recalling an alleged incident last year when he says an enraged Grayson was pressuring him to call child protective services on a woman outside of Grayson's mother's home. "He was wanting me to do stuff that was not kosher."
""The sheriff and I will not tolerate lying or deception," the officer tells him in the audio recording of a Nov. 2022 meeting obtained by CBS News. At one point, the supervising officer warns Grayson that "officers [like you] have been charged and they end up in jail."
"The disciplinary paperwork also included accusations against Grayson of "abusing his power" and "harassing" a man and woman arrested at a traffic stop."

Yep, as predicted, lots more coming out about him.

Complete and utter psychopath who should never have been given a badge, let alone a firearm!

 

[tlcya]

Read at your link and also saw this:

The union representing Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies is asking that former deputy Sean Grayson, charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Sonya Massey, be reinstated and reimbursed for any lost wages.

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council filed a grievance July 18 against the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department. The grievance said Grayson, 30, of Riverton, was “terminated without just cause.”

Union for sheriff's deputies wants Grayson reinstated

FOP says Sangamon police officer charged with murder was fired without "just cause"

www.illinoistimes.com

as to the Fraternal Order of Police union, I get that they are obligated to file a grievance because of his termination upon being charged with this murder. They are required to defend his rights under his contract with the county however, it's not a good look and won't be successful IMO.

 

[tlcya]

July 29, 2024, 5:00 AM CDT
By Cedric Alexander, MSNBC law enforcement analyst
Sonya Massey was killed by an officer who drifted from one law enforcement job to another after leaving the Army after a serious offense. It doesn’t appear that any of the departments that hired him thoroughly vetted him. How could they have hired him if they had?
[snip]
We demand excellence in surgeons, nurses, airline pilots and others who have our lives in their hands, and in pursuit of that we require that they be vetted and trained. But when it comes to law enforcement, we make no such demands, and we seem unwilling to make the necessary investments.

Standing at her door, all Massey asked was that Grayson not hurt her. Turns out, that was too much to ask.
Opinion | Sean Grayson had a history full of red flags. Then he appeared at Sonya Massey’s door.

 

[Lyanna]

Read at your link and also saw this:

The union representing Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies is asking that former deputy Sean Grayson, charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Sonya Massey, be reinstated and reimbursed for any lost wages.

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council filed a grievance July 18 against the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department. The grievance said Grayson, 30, of Riverton, was “terminated without just cause.”

Union for sheriff's deputies wants Grayson reinstated

FOP says Sangamon police officer charged with murder was fired without "just cause"

www.illinoistimes.com

What a freaking joke!!!

JM incredulous and very cross O

(PS - I love your signature! I feel the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor council are the male equivalents otherwise known as Kevins)

 

[PrairieWind]

as to the Fraternal Order of Police union, I get that they are obligated to file a grievance because of his termination upon being charged with this murder. They are required to defend his rights under his contract with the county however, it's not a good look and won't be successful IMO.

Actually, I think they will probably prevail here. It doesn't sound like the county went through the correct process to terminate Grayson. So he may very well be reinstated and then the county goes through the process to terminate him. It is very frustrating, I understand, but when you agree in collective bargaining to a process, you have to follow it.

 

[tlcya]

What a freaking joke!!!

JM incredulous and very cross O

(PS - I love your signature! I feel the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor council are the male equivalents otherwise known as Kevins)

I don't think the Order has a choice. They are the collective bargaining for deputies. As his representing union, they are obliged to defend Grayson in the matter of his summary termination as a deputy for the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office.

JMO I doubt they are happy about being in that position. I hope he hasn't got a snowball's chance as it were to be reinstated or to be suspended with pay. If that happens, I fear that a peaceful situation will not stay so.

 

[Lyanna]

I don't think the Order has a choice. They are the collective bargaining for deputies. As his representing union, they are obliged to defend Grayson in the matter of his summary termination as a deputy for the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office.

JMO I doubt they are happy about being in that position. I don't think he has a snowball's chance as it were to be reinstated or to be suspended with pay. Not when the entire country has already seen him commit cold blooded murder on video. MOO IMO

I understand.

However to me, the only person "terminated without just cause" was Sonya Massey.
But I'm frustrated and really angered by this and maybe will reflect more clearly on a different day.

moo. X

 

[tlcya]

Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – In the wake of the Sonya Massey shooting, a Community Healing and Listening Session is set for Monday. The event at Union Baptist Church at 1405 E. Monroe St. is being facilitated by the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service.
[snip]
The free event runs from 6-8 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.springfield.il.us/Docs/PublicNotice/HealingListeningSession.pdf

local officials will be there, including both local law enforcement agencies (sheriff and PD), city councilmembers, county board members, state's attorney, etc.

 

[tlcya]

A statement from Campbell’s office indicated that the county merit commission and state law enforcement board recommended Grayson’s certification as an officer despite the DUIs, and he passed a drug test, criminal background check, psychological evaluation and 16-week academy course.
[snip]
“His conduct before, during and after suggests that this guy was a loose cannon, and that’s being polite,” said Kalfani Ture, a former police officer, now assistant professor of criminal justice at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and an instructor in the New York Police Department’s academy.
[snip]
“That’s not characteristic of an officer. That is characteristic of someone who has a depraved indifference to human life,” Ture said. “And this incident is not an aberration. Someone like this is pretty consistent in in their display of this type of profile.”
With DUI-related ejection from Army, deputy who killed Massey should have raised flags, experts say

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Imagine being an officer who does care about everyone in the community and who chose a LE career to try to help the community, and then you get a partner like this.

 

[tlcya]

“We are the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, strictly a fraternal organization. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge is not the labor organization that filed the grievance on behalf of the former deputy who is jailed on murder charges. That dubious distinction rests with the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council, which is a completely separate organization with different leadership, a different organizational structure and a different mission. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge had zero involvement in this grievance and yet we are bearing the brunt of the public outcry and hate communication for that action just because we share a common first name with the FOP Labor Council.”
IL FOP says other organization responsible for deputy's grievance in Sonya Massey case

I imagine donations to the Order are seeing a drastic decrease and I can only imagine the number of calls the fraternal organization is fielding over that grievance filed by the labor board.

 

[branmuffin]

Actually, I think they will probably prevail here. It doesn't sound like the county went through the correct process to terminate Grayson. So he may very well be reinstated and then the county goes through the process to terminate him. It is very frustrating, I understand, but when you agree in collective bargaining to a process, you have to follow it.

But you could put them on leave while the process goes through the courts. With pay, of course.

 

[airportwoman]

And the worst part is, cops protect cops, the thin blue line isn't thin at all. If only those good guys helped root out the bad guys you wouldn't have these senseless killing. People with diabetes, experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis, a life threatening side affect, have been shot and killed because the symptoms mimic aggressive behavior. And with the price of insulin that many people can't afford, who experience DKA, these types of interactions are becoming more prevalent meaning the risk to the person is elevated.

Deaf people have also been shot for "disobeying" an officer's commands. People in DKA are more likely to end up in the drunk tank, which is the worst place they could possibly be.

 

[Artis]

A statement from Campbell’s office indicated that the county merit commission and state law enforcement board recommended Grayson’s certification as an officer despite the DUIs, and he passed a drug test, criminal background check, psychological evaluation and 16-week academy course.

With DUI-related ejection from Army, deputy who killed Massey should have raised flags, experts say

SBM

Must have been some great "criminal background check" and "psychological evaluation". Disgusting and a total farce.

 

[Artis]

Deaf people have also been shot for "disobeying" an officer's commands. People in DKA are more likely to end up in the drunk tank, which is the worst place they could possibly be.

Ah, yes, the Seattle case is another that's been on my mind and I think the cop got away with that one, too. Deaf man and artist was walking down the sidewalk whittling a piece of wood with a knife. Cop, from behind the man, yelled at him to drop the knife but because he was deaf, of course, he couldn't hear. Instead the cop dropped him by shooting him in the back.

 

[Kaley Smith]

I mentioned this case and Sonya's "rebuke" phrase to my husband. He was raised a devout Catholic, and he instantly thought she intended to throw the boiling water on the officer, because apparently that phrase is what a Catholic says before throwing holy water on someone. While I don't think Sonya intended to threaten the officer, it makes it more understandable that he thought she was.

Just a completely different perspective, and one I never knew about.

Still doesn't explain why he didn't just back out of her house and leave her alone, though.
"Heya...look, we're done here and none of us need to do anything we can't undo. There's no sign of a prowler and we LEOs have other places to be, so we'll see ourselves out now. You take care and call us again if you feel you need to."

It's more likely that she rebuked him in the name of Jesus because she could see the evil in him.

 

[Kaley Smith]

It's people of all races AND dogs.

Well, a black female FB friend of mine in Texas who is a minister and has a PhD posted a list of innocent, black people and their last words before being killed by police (all fairly recently), and it is truly eye-opening and horrifying. All were from verified cases in the USA, and the list is extremely long. A problem has to be acknowledged before it can be solved in my honest opinion. I wonder if I would be allowed to post it, maybe in a separate thread? Perhaps it is too inflammatory?

 

[Artis]

Well, a black female FB friend of mine in Texas who is a minister and has a PhD posted a list of innocent, black people and their last words before being killed by police (all fairly recently), and it is truly eye-opening and horrifying. All were from verified cases in the USA, and the list is extremely long. A problem has to be acknowledged before it can be solved in my honest opinion. I wonder if I would be allowed to post it, maybe in a separate thread? Perhaps it is too inflammatory?

It's a long list, indeed, but so is the list for innocent people killed by cops who weren't black. It's not a race issue, it's an issue with the types of people who get hired as cops. Unfortunately, this has been politicized as a race issue, entirely ignoring the psychological profile issue of police and it never gets solved because of that. The political actions taken in response to it being framed as a race issue, such de fudning police and legalizing crime, have been a disaster.