A step-by-step look at how law enforcement’s visit to Sonya Massey’s home went so wrong

CNN
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The law enforcement visit to Sonya Massey’s home near Springfield, Illinois, earlier this month began with a calm conversation between the 36-year-old Black woman and two White sheriff’s deputies at her front door and in her living room.

They asked how she was doing mentally and if she needed help. She said, “I love ya’ll,” and rifled through her belongings to find her ID.

And then in the space of about 45 seconds, the deputies took a series of actions that left Massey lying in a pool of blood on her kitchen floor and led to murder charges against one of the deputies, Sean Grayson.

How did this visit escalate so quickly?

With help from law enforcement analysts and 36 minutes of body-camera footage released Monday, CNN took a closer look at what the deputies did and what they could have done differently. The analysts, as well as Illinois prosecutors and the sheriff, found Grayson took several steps to escalate the situation rather than lower the temperature and reassess Massey’s needs.

“The Body Worn Camera footage has now been released, and the public can see what we saw: Sonya Massey lost her life due to an unjustifiable and reckless decision by former Deputy Sean Grayson,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said in a statement Monday. “Grayson had other options available that he should have used. His actions were inexcusable and do not reflect the values or training of our office.”

Grayson, 30, was indicted by a grand jury last week on three counts of first-degree murder and one count each of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He has entered a not guilty plea and was denied pretrial release, according to court records.

While some policing experts may be hesitant to critically analyze the actions of police officers after the fact, the Police Executive Research Forum, an independent organization focusing on best practices in law enforcement, advises department leaders to gather their officers and review controversial use-of-force incidents.

Chuck Wexler, the organization’s executive director, said their training helps police resolve situations that don’t involve firearms.

“If at any point the situation starts to go in a different direction, then you have to have a plan B,” he said. “These officers did not have a plan B except pulling out their firearm and barking orders. That’s simply an archaic practice. We teach officers that if you slow things down and communicate using time and distance, you can resolve these situations so everybody can go home safely.”

What happened: The interaction began after midnight on July 6 after Massey called 911 to report a possible “prowler” outside her home in Springfield, according to a court document filed by prosecutors. The two deputies arrived and searched around the house before knocking on Massey’s door to speak with her.

From the start of their interaction, there are a number of clues suggesting Massey may be experiencing a mental health issue. She has trouble understanding and answering their basic questions, and when they ask if she’s doing alright mentally, she says, “Yes, I took my medicine,” according to the body camera footage. The house appears messy in the video, with clothes strewn across her bedroom and the kitchen counter covered in items.

In a news conference Monday, Massey’s family and their attorney Ben Crump said she had mental health challenges.

What the experts say: A key component of an officer’s interaction with the public is assessing whether they are dealing with someone who could be experiencing a mental health crisis, said Josh Campbell, CNN security correspondent and former federal agent.

According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which conducts training and recommends best practices for law enforcement, such a situation requires “the use of special skills, techniques, and abilities to effectively and appropriately resolve the situation, while minimizing violence.”

The IACP says, “Officers are not expected to diagnose mental or emotional conditions, but rather to recognize behaviors that are potentially indicative” of someone in crisis.

John Miller, CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst, said the officers could have spoken with her further to assess whether she was a danger to herself or others.

“There’s a list of questions that you don’t have to be a mental health professional to ask,” Miller added, “such as, do you have family looking after you, are you receiving services from the county, do you have a social worker?”

“There’s a gap in police training for how to deal with people in crisis, deescalate and use non-lethal tools when situations start to spiral,” he said.

What happened: When the deputies are inside the home speaking with Massey, they note a pot of boiling water on the lit stove, and Massey gets up and moves to the kitchen to turn off the heat and take the pot off the stove.

“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” one deputy says.

Neither officer has any issue with her going over to get the pot, the video shows.

What the experts say: “Again, this appears a missed opportunity that could have ensured a much different ending,” Campbell said. “If time allows, officers are trained to observe the totality of a situation and to assess multiple possible outcomes for any public interaction. Allowing someone potentially in crisis near a dangerous object is recipe for a negative outcome.”

Miller noted this moment as an issue of controlling the subject and the scene.

“They allow her to walk over to a pot of boiling water,” he said. “If they believed she constituted some kind of threat, they could have called her over to them, and one of the officers could’ve walked over, turned off the stove and poured the water out.”

What happened: When she grabs the pot of boiling water, one deputy steps back “away from your hot steaming water,” he says.

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

“Huh?” the deputy says.

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

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

What the experts say: IACP researchers have noted a low tone of voice may be preferable when dealing with someone in mental distress and that making threats “may create additional fright, stress, and potential aggression,” Campbell said.

“While an officer is certainly well within their rights to use whatever volume of voice they believe is required to obtain compliance from a subject, law enforcement experts here again draw a distinction for someone in mental crisis,” he said.

Miller similarly said “calmer dialogue” could have been used.

What happened: After threatening Massey, Grayson immediately draws his firearm and points it at her. She ducks and says, “I’m sorry,” the video shows.

What the experts say: “The gun is the ultimate escalation,” Miller said. “It cuts you off from other tools and is hard to turn back from, sometimes resulting in these fatalities.”

In a court document filed by the state last week, prosecutors noted Grayson could have drawn a Taser located on his duty vest.

“He … has shown a willingness to use lethal force, despite the availability of non-deadly alternatives, when there is little to no threat to his bodily safety,” prosecutors wrote.

What happened: Both officers yell at her to “drop the f**king pot,” and Grayson takes three steps toward her as he tries to move around a kitchen counter, the video shows.

What the experts say: The deputies could have stepped away from Massey and create distance from the pot of boiling water, the experts said.

Campbell said the deputies were at a crossroads at this point.

“Officers across the country are called upon every day to make split-second decisions when faced with a threat – in this case, a subject holding a pot of scalding water, which certainly could have injured the deputies,” he said.

“Effective policing comes down to good judgment in highly stressful situations,” he said. “Although being doused with scalding water could warrant the use of deadly force by an officer to stop a threat, in this video we certainly don’t see officers attempting alternative options, such as moving away and creating distance between themselves and Massey.”

Miller said, “When she comes across with the pot, rather than extend the distance between her and them, they close in giving excited commands and raised voices.”

In the state’s court filing, prosecutors said a “use-of-force” expert had reviewed the body-camera footage and concluded the use of deadly force was not justified.

“(The expert) likened the scenario to an officer intentionally and unnecessarily putting himself in front of a moving vehicle and then justifying use of force because of fear of being struck,” the prosecutors wrote.

What happened: After the shooting, Grayson failed to provide any medical care for Massey and was dismissive of efforts to do so, the video shows.

Grayson’s partner says he’s going to get a medical kit to help, but Grayson responds, “Nah, she’s done. You can go get it but that’s a headshot.”

“Let her f**king just – there’s nothing we can do man,” he says.

After about two minutes, his partner grabs a towel and leans down to try to help Massey, and he notes “she’s still gasping a bit.” Grayson later goes to his vehicle to get his own medical supplies, and when he gets back to the house, he is told there’s nothing he can do for her.

“Alright, I’m not even gonna waste my med stuff then,” Grayson says.

What the experts say: It’s not clear whether faster medical aid might have helped Massey – her condition after the shooting is heavily blurred in the video – but the deputy’s actions and words show a lack of compassion, experts said.

“It may be perplexing to some readers, but an officer who employs deadly force actually has an obligation to immediately shift to rendering aid if the subject of their force no longer poses a threat,” Campbell said. “Although we don’t see the nature of Massey’s injuries in the blurred video, officers waited over two minutes before moving in to apply pressure on her bullet wounds.”

Miller said: “While he does not interfere with his partner’s effort to follow procedure and render medical aid, Grayson discourages it and is dismissive of it, which may have not made any difference medically but is an indicator of a passive contempt for procedure and a lack of compassion.”