Sonya Massey’s killer cop to stay in jail despite request for release to treat cancer as sheriff abruptly resigns
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell previously resisted calls to resign after the shooting
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An Illinois deputy who last month fatally shot Sonya Massey in her home after she called 911 about a potential prowler, will remain in jail despite his release request, a judge ruled.
The decision came the same day that Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, whose department employed ex-deputy Sean Grayson, announced he would retire at the end of the month, despite resisting previous calls to step down.
Grayson had asked the county court to reconsider an order from last month denying pre-trial release in his murder case, arguing the facility where he’s being held, Menard County Jail, would not provide sufficient care for medical conditions, including colon cancer.
His attorneys also claimed he was not a threat to the public because he was fired after the early July shooting and no longer had access to weapons.
A Sangamon County judge, however, found that a “real and present threat” remained if the former officer was let out.
The July 6 incident prompted community outrage, and calls from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker for Campbell to step down.
In a Friday statement obtained by local TV station WAND, Campbell said the “current political climate has made it nearly impossible” for him to do his job. The sheriff had previously apologized and said his department “failed Sonya,” but that he would not resign.
Grayson shot Massey, a Black woman, on the morning of July 6, as he and a partner responded to her call about a potential prowler.
The shooting took place during a tense encounter where the officers told Massey to step away from a boiling pot of water as she said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” according to body camera footage captured by his partner.
Prosecutors allege Grayson didn’t turn on his body camera until after the shooting.
“I swear to God. I will shoot you right in your f------ face,” Grayson responds, according to the footage, and pulls his pistol, shooting Massey seconds later as she apologizes and crouches on the ground.
The footage also captures the former officer telling his partner not to render first aid to the 36-year-old mother of two, believing her injuries were too severe.
Grayson, 30, had worked at six different law enforcement agencies in the previous four years, had two DUI convictions, and was discharged from the Army for “serious misconduct.” He’d also been the subject of a complaint from a female arrestee, who claimed he tried to watch her be strip-searched.
Grayson is charged with first-degree murder, to which he has pleaded not guilty. His next court date is on August 26.