A police shooting

Shannon Bohrer

(9/2024) On July 6, Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old black woman, was shot and killed in her home. She was shot by Deputy Sean Grayson of the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office in Woodside Township near Springfield, Illinois. The shooting was captured on a police body-worn camera. This became a national news story and was repeated for days. The news reports often mentioned other well-known stories of police shootings, implying a pattern of excessive use of deadly force by police. While the press coverage had similarities to previous incidents, the reported employment history of Officer Grayson was unusual and concerning.

Ms. Massey had called the police, reporting an intruder in her home. When the police arrived, they searched the outside area before entering the house. At one point, the police questioned her, asking if it was all right. She responded, "Yes, I took my medications." Some of the interactions were captured on body police cameras. When asked about her mental health, she responded, "I love y’all."

When the officers requested identification, she looked through her belongings for documents. After she found her identification, an officer told her something about a pot of water boiling on the stove. She responded by moving to the stove to remove the pot from the stove. As she did this, she told the officers, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus." The officers moved back while she had the pot of boiling water in hand. She questioned why the officers were moving back, and Officer Grayson said it was because of the boiling water. She repeated, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."

Officer Grayson had drawn his gun, and after threatening to shoot her, Ms. Massy apologized and dropped to the floor behind the counter. The officers approached, and Office Grayson shot her. According to the initial reports, Ms. Massey was holding the pot of water over her head when shot. Another officer called in (on police radio) about the shooting and started to administer first aid when Officer Grayson told him, "She’s done." The police radio traffic also includes someone saying that Ms. "Massey’s wound was ‘self-inflicted.’" In a later report, Ms. Massey "threw steaming hot water on a chair next to the cabinets."

The incident was captured on a police body camera; however, Officer Grayson’s camera was not turned on. Officer Grayson was fired, then "indicted by a grand jury, on three counts of first-degree murder (he fired three rounds) and one count each of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct."

The day before the shooting, Sonya’s mother called 911, reporting that her daughter was experiencing mental issues. She expressed concern about any police response to her daughter’s residence. Donna Massey said, "I don’t want you guys to hurt her, please." There is no reporting if the information were given to the responding officers, nor if it would have made any difference.

According to the news reports, Officer Grayson had an unusual background, working for six different police agencies in a four-year period. Prior to his employment as a police officer, he was in the military and discharged for serious misconduct. Officer Grayson was also charged with driving under the influence—two times. The serious misconduct was not defined but may have been related to the driving while intoxicated incidents.

We see videos and read about alleged police misconduct, which results in officers being charged with criminal offenses. What is often missing in the reporting is the officer’s history before the misconduct.

In this case, being discharged from the military for serious misconduct, two serious driving offenses, and employment with six different police agencies in four years should give one pause or at least question the officer’s suitability for employment. We do not know how the case against Officer Grayson will be resolved, nor if his unusual background will influence the outcome of his trial.

Could prior officer abnormal or uncommon behavior(s) predict future incidents? We hear and read about police misconduct but are rarely informed of previous transgressions that relate to or might predict criminal actions. If we had a better understanding of this, might we be able to reduce future Incidents?

The George Floyd murder could be used as an example. When George Floyd was killed, Officer Derick Chauvin was charged, found guilty, and sentenced to twenty-two and half years of incarceration. When the crime occurred, Officer Chauvin had been a sworn officer for nineteen years. It was reported that during his career, eighteen complaints were filed against him, and "he received two letters of reprimand for misconduct." He was also involved in three police shootings, and he received two commendations.

Although Office Chauvin had eighteen complaints, I was only able to find one reported incident in Officer Chauvin’s background. In 2017, Officer Chauvin used unreasonable force against a 14-year-old boy. He restrained the boy by kneeling on his back/neck and hitting him with a flashlight. The boy asserted that he could not breathe and lost consciousness. The victim did survive the incident. Was this one of the letters of reprimand? If the reporting is correct, Officer Chauvin could have been charged with a crime. Could that incident have predicted the killing of Floyd? We do not know if there are other concerning incidents.

When the Department of Justice charged Derick Chauvin with violating George Floyd's civil rights, they considered charging him with the 2017 case as another civil rights violation. The prosecutors wanted to use this incident in Chauvin’s trial; however, "The incident was deemed inadmissible as evidence in Chauvin’s murder trial." If the police agency, supervisors, and police administrators knew about this one incident, could they have some responsibility?

When officers are accused of poor behavior or charged with committing crimes, the officers can be held accountable. We have witnessed this in the George Floyd case, the Terry Nickols case, and others. Maybe we should be questioning not just how the incident occurred but also what is the responsibility of the agency, the training unit, and supervision. If the behavior of an officer is either not acceptable or criminal in nature, is that predictability of future behavior?

In the case of Sonya Massey’s shooting, we know little of the previous behavior of Officer Grayson; however, what we do know bears further examination. Being discharged from the military for serious misconduct, which was? Being charged twice with driving under the influence and then being employed with six different agencies in just four years. We know very little, currently, about his past behaviors with these agencies.

I believe the majority of police officers do good work and protect the citizens. However, if we examine the past behaviors of some officers, could we prevent these occurrences? "What’s Past is Prologue" is a quote from William Shakespeare, which tells us that past behavior indicates future behavior.