By Lawmakers in Washington decried the killing of Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who was shot in her house earlier this month by an Illinois police officer after she called 911 to report a prowler.
Vice President Harris, likely to be the Democratic presidential nominee, said in a statement Tuesday that Massey “deserved to be safe,” and that the police officers who responded to her call had failed her. Massey was shot by former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson as he responded to her 911 call.
“After she called the police for help, she was tragically killed in her own home at the hands of a responding officer sworn to protect and serve,” Harris said.
Harris was reacting to body-camera footage released Tuesday by prosecutors in the case. The footage shows Grayson and another unnamed officer inspecting the property around Massey’s house early on July 6. While the inspection was followed by 18 minutes of a relatively normal interaction with her, Massey’s emergency call turned deadly within 10 after Grayson pulled his weapon, ordered Massey to drop a pot of hot water and then fatally shot her in the face.
Last week, Grayson was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct after a weeks-long investigation by the Illinois State Police and the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office. At prosecutors’ urging, Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin denied Grayson bond and ordered that he be jailed, and records show he’s at the Menard County Detention Facility.
Grayson, who was fired Thursday after his indictment, faces life in prison if convicted on the murder charge. His attorney, Dan Fultz, declined to comment on the case on Monday.
In her statement, Harris said the “disturbing footage released yesterday confirms what we know from the lived experiences of so many — we have much work to do to ensure that our justice system fully lives up to its name.”
“I join President Biden in commending the swift action of the State’s Attorney’s Office and in calling on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a bill that I co-authored in the Senate,” Harris said. “In this moment, in honor of Sonya’s memory and the memory of so many more whose names we may never know, we must come together to achieve meaningful reforms that advance the safety of all communities.”
On Monday, President Biden said in a statement that Massey — whom he described “a beloved mother, friend, daughter, and young Black woman” — “should be alive today.”
“Sonya called the police because she was concerned about a potential intruder,” Biden said in his statement. “When we call 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 added that Massey’s death “at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”
The president commended the actions taken by the Springfield State’s Attorney’s office to investigate the case and, like Harris, called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. In 2021, Congress failed to pass the act, which was introduced after Floyd’s death in May 2020, over party disagreements.
Illinois Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Dick Durbin, both Democrats, also condemned the shooting in statements.
“Sonya Massey feared for her safety and trusted law enforcement to protect her — and that trust never should have cost Sonya her life,” Duckworth said. “This sort of tragedy at the hands of law enforcement is all too common for Black Americans, and it is completely unacceptable and unjustifiable. While it will not bring Sonya back, state authorities bringing appropriate charges in this case was the right thing to do.”
The body-camera footage, Durbin said, “is disturbing & unconscionable.”
“My thoughts continue to be with Sonya Massey’s children, family, & loved ones as they relive these horrible moments,” Durbin said.