President Joe Biden said he was “heartbroken” that Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, “should still be alive today” after being shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy inside her kitchen in Springfield, Illinois, on July 6.
Massey had called 911 to report a prowler on her property, about 200 miles south of Illinois. After two Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies searched the area, they entered the home to speak with Massey. The news release was issued in the wake of the release of the horrific body camera footage of the incident.
During a brief, seemingly affable conversation in which Massey held a pot of boiling water, Officer Sean Grayson shot and killed the woman after she made a comment about “rebuking him in the name of Jesus.”
Massey’s daughter has confirmed that The Guardian that his mother was a paranoid schizophrenic.
The latest statement is the first Biden, 81, has made since he stunned the world on Sunday by announcing he would not run in the 2024 election against Republican Donald Trump.
Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, appears likely to win the Democratic Party nomination after receiving endorsements from most of the party’s top figures, including Biden, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Officer Sean Grayson draws his gun as Sonya Massey hides in her kitchen on July 6.
Sean Grayson faces life in prison if convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and official misconduct.
Massey’s family held a funeral for her on Friday, attended by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.
“When we ask for help, all of us as Americans, regardless of who we are or where we live, should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,” Biden wrote in reference to Massey’s death.
‘Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that too often, Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways that many of us do not.’
Last week, Grayson pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and official misconduct.
The body camera video confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled across the counter at Massey to put down a pot of hot water.
He then threatened to shoot him, Massey crouched down, briefly stood up and Grayson fired his gun at him.
When officers first walked around the home, they found a black SUV with its windows smashed in the driveway.
It took Massey three minutes to open the door after officers knocked, and she immediately said, “Don’t hurt me.”
She seemed confused as they spoke at the door, repeating that she needed help, referring to God and telling them she didn’t know who owned the car.
Inside the home, officers appeared exasperated as she sat on her couch and went through her purse while they asked for identification to fill out a report before leaving. Then Grayson pointed to a pot that was sitting over a flame on the stove.
“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” he said.
Massey immediately stood up and went to the kitchen, moving the pot near a sink. She and Grayson appeared to laugh as she poured “boiling water” into the pot before she unexpectedly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
“You better not do that or I swear to God I’ll shoot you in the face.” He then pulled out his 9mm pistol and demanded that she drop the marijuana.
Massey said, “It’s OK, I’m sorry.” In Grayson’s body camera footage, he pointed his gun at her. She crouched down and put her hands up.
Grayson remained in the living room, facing Massey and separated by a counter that divided the living room and kitchen. Prosecutors have said the separation allowed Grayson to “relatively distance and protect himself” from Massey and the pot of hot water.
After Grayson shot her, Grayson talked his partner out of grabbing a medical kit to save her.
“You can go get him, but it’s a headshot,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do, man.”
He added: “What else can we do? I’m not going to pour boiling water on my face.”
Noticing that Massey was still breathing, he relented and said he would go get his gear too. The other officer said, “At least we can try to stop the bleeding.”
Grayson told police who responded to the scene: “He had boiling water and he came at me with boiling water. He said he was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and he came at me with boiling water.”
A deputy’s body camera shows Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson at Sonya Massey’s door on July 6 after she called them to report a prowler.
Once inside, Officer Sean Grayson began arguing with Massey over a pot of boiling water on the stove and raised his gun.
Grayson is seen peering around the corner of the counter approximately 30 seconds after he first opened fire.
Massey’s death has sparked massive protests in the city of Springfield
During a news conference Monday afternoon, the family’s attorney, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, called Grayson’s “revisionist” justification “disingenuous.”
“He needed a helping hand, not a bullet in the face,” Crump said of Massey.
Asked why Massey told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Crump said he had undergone treatment for mental health issues.
She said she invoked the name of God from the beginning of the encounter and asked for her Bible after the officers entered.
At Massey’s funeral on Friday, Crump said the video, which he and his family had already seen, would “shock the conscience of America.”
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, demanded that the county court system be completely open in its investigations and prosecutions and transparent with the public.
“The only time I’ll ever see my baby again is when I’m gone from this world,” Wilburn said. “And I don’t want anyone else in the United States to join this league.”
Grayson, who was fired last week, is being held in the Sangamon County Jail without bail. If convicted, he faces prison terms of 45 years to life for murder, 6 to 30 years for assault and 2 to 5 years for misdemeanor misconduct.
His attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.
Massey’s death is the latest example of black people being murdered
In recent years, the police have attacked them in their homes.
In May, a Hispanic Florida sheriff shot and killed Roger Fortson when the senior Air Force airman answered the door of his Fort Walton Beach home armed with a pistol pointed downward. The sheriff, Eddie Duran, was fired.
In 2019, a white Fort Worth, Texas, officer fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window of her home after responding to a nonemergency call reporting that Jefferson’s front door was open.
Aaron Dean, the former officer, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.
In 2018, a white Dallas police officer shot and killed unarmed Botham Jean after mistaking his apartment for his own. Amber Guyger, the former officer, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Crump has represented families in each case as part of his effort to force accountability for police killings of black people.
Crump has also represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man who died after being strapped face-down on a gurney in December 2022. Two emergency medical professionals face murder charges in that case.