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Police once again showed their true colours on July 6, shooting in the face and killing 36-year-old Black mother, Sonya Massey, in her home in Springfield, Illinois.

Massey called 911 for fear of an intruder and became the victim. She leaves behind two teenage children.

The reason and savage nature of the killing was not revealed immediately. Typically, an internal police review occurs first, and the police officer is put on paid leave. Not this time.

Police videocam footage — released to the family 11 days later — showed the two cops entering Massey’s home. Deputy Sheriff Sean Grayson, an officer with a long record of abuse, fired the shots that hit Massey in the face.

The police union, as expected, filed a grievance protesting Grayson’s termination and demanding his reinstatement. However, by the end of the month and under community pressure, the union announced it would no longer challenge the charges.

Timeline

News media from USA Today, CNN, The New York Times and Illinois newspapers including The State Journal-Register, gave a clear timeline of what happened hour-by-hour on July 6 and afterwards:

Around 12:50 am, two Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputies, including Grayson, were called to a home in the 2800 block of Hoover Avenue in an unincorporated part of Woodside Township for a possible intruder.

No intruder was found. Court documents filed by prosecutors said Massey appeared to be “calm, possibly unwell, and non-aggressive”.

Police footage shows Grayson and another deputy speaking with Massey in her home — at which point she went to the stove to turn off a pot of boiling water after Grayson directed her to do so. She then picked up the pot and the other deputy stepped back, “away from your hot steaming water,” he said.

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Massey responded.

“Huh?” the deputy replied.

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she repeated.

“You better f**king not or I swear to God I’ll f**king shoot you in the f**king face,” Grayson said.

He then drew his firearm and pointed it at her; she ducked and said, “I’m sorry” while lifting the pot, the video shows.

“Drop the f**king pot!” both deputies yelled.

Three shots are heard. After a few seconds of silence, one deputy said, “shots fired” and called for emergency medical services. The implication was that Massey shot first, even though she had no gun.

Massey was taken to the hospital where she died. The case was referred to the Illinois State Police Sheriff’s Department. An autopsy revealed on July 8 that she had died from a gunshot wound to the face.

Indictment and protests

National civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump announced on July 11 that he has been retained by Massey’s family. They have called for a probe into Grayson’s hiring. Grayson worked at six different law enforcement agencies in four years and was charged with driving under the influence twice.

A two-hour protest was held at the Sangamon County Building on July 12, demanding the release of body camera footage and transparency in the case. There were more protests on July 15 and 16.

Massey family members reviewed the body camera footage on July 17 and told the media that Sonya had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

A Sangamon County grand jury then indicted Grayson on five counts, including three of first-degree murder. He surrendered to the police and his employment was later terminated.

As a protest rally drew about 200 supporters at the Springfield NAACP Building, authorities announced that the body camera footage would be released to the public on July 22.

Meanwhile, Grayson made his first appearance in Sangamon County court on July 18, pleading not guilty to all five counts. The judge denied Grayson’s petition to be released.

Funeral and bodycam release

Massey’s funeral was held on July 19. Eulogising Massey, Crump said the bodycam footage would “shock the conscience of America”, in a similar way to images of Emmett Till, a teenager whose lynching in 1955 galvanised the Civil Rights Movement.

Nearly two weeks after Massey was murdered, Sangamon County released the bodycam footage to the public as protesters marched in Massey’s memory. At a press conference at Springfield’s NAACP Building, Crump announced that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Massey’s case. The following day, Illinois’ Democratic governor and lieutenant governor met with members of Massey’s family.

The fact that the state police and county moved relatively quickly to sack and prosecute Grayson shows the impact of the Black Lives Matters movement. Such a relatively fast-moving response to a police officer killing a Black person is rare. However, it took the horror of a video to reveal the criminal police actions.

Family demands justice

Massey is among a growing number of Black women killed by police in their homes. Recall Breonna Taylor’s murder in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2020.

At the July 22 news conference, Crump connected Massey’s death to other cases of police violence against Black people. He described her killing as “senseless on every level”, remarking that “Black women don’t get the consideration and the respect in America”.

Massey’s father, James Wilburn, said he initially received conflicting information from law enforcement. “I was under the impression that a prowler had broken in and killed my baby. Never did they say that it was a deputy-involved shooting until my brother read it on the internet.”

‘Crime against humanity’

National Day of Mourning rallies occurred on July 28 in New York, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Washington DC, among other places. Other communities have begun hosting vigils for Massey, including in Kansas City in Missouri, Cedar Rapids in Iowa and Wilmington in North Carolina.

“Murdering unarmed citizens is a crime against humanity,” said Sonya Patrick, the chair of Wilmington’s Black Lives Matter chapter and the region’s Black Leadership Caucus, at that city’s vigil, as reported by the Port City Daily.

Massey’s family, including her children, Malachi, 17 and Jeanette, 15, have worked with activists to host a series of rallies, marches and public meetings.

The DOJ held a “listening session” on July 29 in Springfield’s Union Baptist Church. Nine city and county officials, including Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, made two-minute opening statements. Then the crowd of 500, many wearing purple in honour of Massey, responded. While Campbell asked for forgiveness from the family and community, speakers continued to call for his resignation.

The following night the family was in Chicago for a “Remembering Sonya Massey” mass meeting held at New Mount Pilgrim Church in the West Garfield Park neighbourhood. The Black clergy turned out hundreds with speakers including Crump and Reverand Al Sharpton from the National Action Network.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee, also spoke with Massey’s family. She released a statement, remarking that Massey was “tragically killed in her own home at the hands of a responding officer sworn to protect and serve”.

Wilburn, told NBC News that Harris “let us know that she is with us 100% [and] that this senseless killing must stop”.

Abolish and replace!

Tahir Duckett, a civil rights lawyer and activist and executive director of Georgetown Law’s Center for Innovations in Community Safety, wrote on July 24 in a NYT essay that “[t]he death of George Floyd in 2020 drew public outrage and calls for a wide variety of police reforms. There is still a lot we don’t know about the Massey situation, including if she was experiencing mental distress. But the killing of Ms. Massey is a cold reminder of how little has changed in the years since.”

Duckett wrote that “there have been piecemeal reforms at the state and local level. But at the federal level, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was unable to get past partisan gridlock in the Senate — and, in any case, many experts agree that the act would not do enough to reduce rates of police violence...”

Justice for victims of police violence and killings will require much more than reforms. Policing as it exists must be abolished and replaced.