After weeks of protesting, the family of Sonya Massey finally got what they’ve been advocating for: the release of the body camera footage from the night Massey was shot and killed by an Illinois deputy.

Initial Encounter

In the body camera video, the deputies appeared to search the premises around Massey’s home and discovered a black Chevy in the driveway with two broken windows on the driver’s side. Both Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Grayson and his partner knocked on Massey’s door multiple times without announcing themselves.

“Sheriff’s office,” Grayson finally announced.

“You comin’ to the door or not?” the other officer asked.

“Hold on,” Massey said from inside and then opened the door a few minutes later.

“Somebody was down here and I needed y’all help. Please don’t hurt me though,” she said to the officers.

“Why would we hurt you? You called us,” Grayson replied.

In the video, Massey then explained she believed someone was outside her house. The officers told her they checked the area and didn’t find anyone. Massey then said the black car in her driveway didn’t belong to her and stated she was trying to get help. She and Grayson then went back and forth in dialogue as he asked her what she needed help with.

“Nothing. I don’t know. I just, please God, please God… I don’t know what to do,” she responds.

In the footage, Grayson asked if Massey needed help with anything else to which she declined. Grayson then asked about her mental health and Massey shared that she takes medication. “I love y’all. Thank y’all” she said while closing the door. However, Grayson began asking her more questions about the damaged vehicle resulting in him entering the home.

Inside Massey’s Home

Inside the home, the video showed Grayson ask Massey for her name which she did not immediately provide. Massey then appeared to call 911 again. The dispatcher asked her to hang up after it was confirmed the deputies were there but she asked the dispatcher to stay on the line.

Grayson asked once again for her name. Massey did not respond. Grayson then asked again about the car again. Massey mentioned a dent and stated the broken window was something that occurred earlier.

Grayson then asked for her last name which she provided. However, when Grayson asked her for her ID, she said she wanted to the officers to see her “paperwork.” While she rummaged through her things on the couch, Grayson pointed toward a pot on the stove that appeared to be heating up. Massey then swiftly went to the kitchen, grabbed the pot and began filling it with water in the sink, per the video.

Things Escalate

“What are y’all doing?” she asked the officers while standing by the sink.

“Getting away from your hot steaming water,” one officer replied with a chuckle.

“Getting away from my hot steaming water? I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

“You better f-cking not. I’ll f-cking shoot you in your f-cking face,” Grayson said. “Drop the f-cking pot!”

In the video, both officers pulled their service arms out. “Okay I’m sorry!” Massey said before ducking behind the counter. The officers ordered her to drop the pot again and Massey popped back up with the pot of water, tossing it in their direction.

Almost immediately, three shots were fired in her direction. Grayson ordered her again to drop the pot but Massey was silent. Grayson radioed shots fired – a headshot to a female. Both officers remained standing with their guns drawn while Massey appeared unresponsive, per the video.

The Aftermath

Following the shooting, the second deputy said he’d go get his first-aid kit, per the video. Grayson responded, “Nah dude, that’s it. She’s done, she’s done. You can go get it but that’s a headshot…”

“Dude I’m not taking boiling water to the f-cking head and look it came right to our feet too,” Grayson is heard saying in a the video a few beats later. “Just let her just f-ckin… there’s nothing we can do man.”

Massey’s labored breathing is heard in the background of the video. The two deputies confirmed the paramedics were in route. In the video, Grayson stood staring at Massey as she lied on the floor of the kitchen. Grayson said she was still breathing but losing a lot of blood from her head.

“We can at least try and stop the blood,” the second deputy officer said. Grayson exited the home and the other deputy went to the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen rag to apply pressure to Massey’s head. He later said in the video she suffered a gunshot wound to the eye but no exit wound. Paramedics arrived in about five minutes. Though labored, Massey was still breathing nearly ten minutes after the shooting.

The second deputy returned to his patrol car, taking deep breaths as other responding officers asked him if he was okay. In the footage, his hands were shaking as he cleaned them off. Grayson, on the other hand, replied, “I’m good. This f-cking bitch is crazy,” when other responding officers asked him if he was okay, per the video. “I think she set it up on purpose,” he’s heard saying.

Response from Civil Attorney

Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, said Massey called 911 to report a potential home intruder. In an incident report written by police, they claimed Massey appeared “distraught” and “not thinking clearly” when officers responded to the home.

“It is that senseless, that unnecessary, that unjustifiable. I mean, this video is tragic in every sense,” said Crump at Massey’s funeral service.

Grayson was since fired from the department and criminally charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.