Sonya Massey's shooting incident has caused a country-wide outrage in the United States amid the ongoing presidential election controversy. Former Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson shot the 36-year-old woman dead on July 6. Sonya Massey had dialed 911 to report a suspected intruder in her house but ended up getting shot by the same men who were sent to protect her.
More than two weeks later, the Illinois State Police Department has finally released the 36-minute live body cam footage of the entire incident. In the clip posted on July 22, Massey shouts, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus" before being threatened by Sean Grayson to keep a pot of hot water away.
Just when she apologized and ducked for cover, the officer fired several times. Several celebrities have voiced their outrage on the matter on social media, including Solange Knowles, Meek Mill, Nick Young, Tori Wan Kenobi, and others.
American rapper Meek Mill emphasized that the woman wasn't even carrying the pot when the shooting took place. He pointed out that slowing the clip down makes it clear the pot wasn't even in her hand when Sean Grayson shot Sonya Massey.
“She didn’t even have that pot in her hand if you slow it down!” emphasized Mill on X.
Meanwhile, Solange Knowles highlighted the fact that the first Sonya Massey's first words to the police officers were, "Don't hurt me." However, the irony was that those very police officers ended up killing her. Previously, she had also dedicated the song Black Maybe to the innumerable black lives that are lost because of police violence.
Some other reactions to Massey's demise are as follows:
"So the police shot and killed an 36 yr old black lady holding a pot bcuz she said I rebuke you in Jesus name..and we out here playing for USA," tweeted American basketball star Nick Young.
"Man that video of Sonya Massey just broke my heart man. You can’t even call the cops to your own home to help you, shit is fucking scary. I can’t even imagine how her family is dealing with this right now," opined Ibrahim Hamad.
"Sonya Massey was rebuking the demon that was clearly revealing itself to her through that cop. Only a wicked spirit would unleash like that. There was no sign of danger. Only the sick perverted mentality of the cops, imagining danger that’s not present. Low intelligent demons," slammed Tori Wan Kenobi on X.
Canadian R&B duo DVSN highlighted the fact that the bodycam was the saving grace that helped people catch the police officers who shot Massey. According to him, several other shootout cases go unnoticed daily because of a lack of evidence.
"That Sonya Massey video really hurt to watch… that man claiming she “ CAME at him with boiling water” just made me think what if there was no body cam?… and how many times they’ve gotten away with these stories when it comes to us… smh. Hurts man," explained the tweet.
"This Sonya Massey story is nuts , rest in peace to that woman!! That sh*t got me upset," commented Queenz Flip.
Released bodycam video shows the exact moment of Sonya Massey's shooting
The 36-minute video released by the Illinois State Police Department shows the exact moment Massey was shot and the conversation that preceded it. Two Sangamon County sheriff's deputy officers responded to Sonya Massey's house after she dialed 911 to report a suspected prowler in her house according to the court documents.
In the body cam footage, Sean Grayson and his accompanying police officer are conversing with Sonya Massey when she goes to the gas stove to turn off a pot of steaming water. The officers immediately retaliate when she picks up the pot of water. They warn her to step away from the pot of boiling water.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she responds. After an argument with the officer in which they threaten to shoot her while she only repeats the phrase, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus, " Sean Grayson draws his gun and points it at Massey.
After a while, three shots are fired, and one officer calls for emergency medical services. Grayson could be heard saying,
“Dude, I’m not taking f**king boiling water to the f**king head. And look, it came right to our feet, too.”
A moment later, Grayson explains the situation to another officer and comments that he defended himself when the woman was allegedly coming at him with boiling water.
Sean Grayson has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count each of official misconduct and aggravated battery with a firearm. According to the court documents, the deputy was denied pretrial release and has pleaded not guilty.