Nationally-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump was in Springfield Friday to attend Sonya Massey's funeral and speak to reporters about the case. Body camera footage from law enforcement will be made public Monday.
"When this horrible video is released, it is going to shock the conscience of America, like the pictures of Emmitt Till after he was lynched," Crump said. Till was a Black 14-year old from Chicago who was abducted and killed in 1955 Mississippi. His case helped spark the Civil Rights Movement.
Massey, a 36-year old Black woman, was shot July 6 in her home on S. Hoover Ave. in unincorporated Springfield after calling 9-1-1 to report a prowler. Two Sangamon County Sheriff's Department deputies were dispatched.
Court documents say while a search was underway inside the home, Deputy Sean Grayson began yelling at Massey to put down a pot of hot water she removed from her stove. The documents say she had been given permission to do so.
Grayson, who is white, reportedly fired his gun three times, striking Massey in the face. She later died at St. John's Hospital. Prosecutors say the other deputy provided first aid until an ambulance arrived – despite Grayson telling him not to do so because of the severity of the injury.
Grayson was charged this week with three counts of First Degree Murder, Aggravated Battery with a Firearm and Official Misconduct. He remains in custody after bail was denied. He has also been fired from the Sheriff's Department after the results of an Illinois State Police investigation.
Numerous officials, from the governor to the Sangamon County Sheriff, have called the situation tragic.
Grayson reportedly failed to turn his body camera on, only doing so after the shooting, But the incident was captured by the other deputy's camera. That's what will be released Monday at 2 p.m.
Officials said nothing will be redacted, but some video will be blurred out of respect for Massey's family.
"We failed here," Ald. Shawn Gregory said. "And we're going to use every day that I sit in that seat to fight for justice for our sister and all of us."
