Body camera footage captured the shooting and the woman’s desperate cries as she begged, ‘Please, God’

A former Illinois deputy has been sentenced to 20 years for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 for help.

Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October of second-degree murder. Grayson, who is white, received the maximum possible sentence and has been in police custody since being charged in the killing.

Massey’s family members, who were sitting in the court, celebrated his sentence with a loud cheer: “Yes!” The judge admonished them.

Grayson apologized during the sentencing, saying he wished he could bring Massey back and spare her family the pain he caused.

“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” he said. “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”

  • Zombiepirate@lemmy.worldEnglish
    191·
    18 hours ago

    Cops will go fucking nuts on someone merely because they don’t comply; their pea-brains simply cannot tolerate anyone who dares to question their authority.

    Dude shouldn’t have even gone into the house, he refused to leave and deescalate, then murdered a woman instead of just walking out of the door of a place he didn’t even belong.

    • Manjushri@piefed.socialEnglish
      92·
      18 hours ago

      The problem is fear. In general, we don’t teach cops how to deal with complex situations. We don’t teach them how to deescalate potentially dangerous situations. We don’t teach them how to peacefully resolve conflicts. All they are taught now is Killology (AKA Warrior Training).

      Grossman’s America is a terrifying place where police are both the primary targets of and defenders against superpredation. “Increasingly the police must face organized opponents armed with assault rifles and bombs,” Grossman says at the outset of the class, citing an “explosion in violent crime” and an “extraordinary rise in violence” in the streets of America.

      …

      Grossman maintains that America is now scarier than ever—and that cops may well be the ones with the most to fear. “We know that if it were not for all the body armor, bulletproof vests worn by officers, law enforcement fatalities in the United States would easily be double or even triple what they are today,” Grossman asserts. “If this is not war, then you tell me what is.”

      Cops out there now are terrified that they are constantly in the sights of one bad guy or another. They are in a state of constant terror that anyone might pull out a gun and murder them. People in that mindset cannot be trusted to be “peace” officers.

      • Gork@sopuli.xyz
        32·
        14 hours ago

        Grossman maintains that America is now scarier than ever—and that cops may well be the ones with the most to fear. “We know that if it were not for all the body armor, bulletproof vests worn by officers, law enforcement fatalities in the United States would easily be double or even triple what they are today,” Grossman asserts. “If this is not war, then you tell me what is.”

        This man has a financial interest in keeping officers as scared as possible so their Chief can book training courses with this guy.

        I wouldn’t take whatever he says as having any basis in reality.

          • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            9·
            9 hours ago

            One of the fucking greatest things I’ve ever seen.

            Dude apparently thinks he has been shot, so of course, what makes sense to do is:

            ‘Combat roll’

            (Utterly tactically useless given the angle from where he thought he was being shot from)

            ‘Suppressive fire toward a restrained person in custody in a police cruiser…’

            (“I need to shoot my partner’s car!”)

            ‘… narrowly missing his partner cop…’

            ‘… and with flimsy ass shit tier residential townhomes as the back stop beyond the car.’

            That guy needs to be sentenced to only be allowed to appear in public in a full on clown suit for 5 years.

            Its actually a miracle he didn’t kill anyone.

    • M137@lemmy.world
      2·
      8 hours ago

      It’s not even about anyone daring to question the authority, it’s anyone who they decide in that very moment is a threat (based on no logic at all). There are so many videos of American cops demanding people to do things they clearly can’t do or just are impossible to do, like two different things that are exclusive to each other. And tons of other videos of people doing exactly what they’re told but no the cop(s) already decided that they’re a threat no matter what.

    • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
      31·
      17 hours ago

      It didn’t seem like at any point the woman was in a state of mind to calmly invite them in. It’s like they always make the choice that maximizes their chance of shooting someone.

      I saw footage of a different encounter where a bunch of police were hanging out right at her backdoor even though she was clearly distressed and didn’t even think about giving her space. Pretty sure they also shot her through a screen door while she was still in her house.

      • BillyClark@piefed.socialEnglish
        10·
        16 hours ago

        The woman reported a prowler and they had already checked the outside of the house. I wonder if they actually needed to go inside the house in the first place.

        I wouldn’t voluntarily allow cops into my house unless the situation required them to enter my house.

        • TexasDrunk@lemmy.world
          6·
          13 hours ago

          Agreed. I wouldn’t let one of them shitbags in my house if they were offering me a sack full of cash and a harem of consenting porn stars unless it was absolutely required by law. If I get burgled I’m just going down to give my statement so I can get a case for my insurance company because I know they ain’t gonna investigate it and by allowing them in the house my odds of dying increase greatly.