Illinois deputy who killed Sonya Massey should have raised red flags, experts say

His past should have raised serious questions when the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department hired him in May 2023, law enforcement experts say.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois sheriff's deputy charged in the shooting death of Sonya Massey was kicked out of the Army for the first of two drunken driving convictions in which he had a weapon in his car, authorities said, but that didn't stop multiple law enforcement agencies from giving him a badge.

Before his policing career began with six jobs in four years — the first three of which were part time — 30-year-old Sean Grayson was convicted twice within a year of driving under the influence, which cost him his hitch in the military.

The convictions plus his previous employment record should have raised serious questions when the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department hired him in May 2023, law enforcement experts say.

Grayson, who has since been fired, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in the death of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who had called 911 about a suspected prowler at her home in Springfield, 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty.

“Six jobs in four years should have raised a red flag. And you would ask why he wasn’t hired full time in any of those (part-time) jobs,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. “Combined with a track record of DUIs, it would be enough to do further examination as to whether or not he would be a good fit.”

Grayson, who enlisted in the Army in 2014, was charged with DUI in Macoupin County, just south of Sangamon County, after traffic stops on Aug. 10, 2015, and again on July 26, 2016.

The first DUI led to his discharge from the military in February 2016 for “serious misconduct,” according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel information, adding that Grayson had an unregistered gun in his vehicle.

Macoupin County State's Attorney Jordan Garrison confirmed that police found a gun in the center console, but Grayson did not face a weapons charge because he was a resident of Fort Riley, Kansas. Kansas has an open-carry firearms law.

Grayson received a general discharge under honorable conditions — rather than an honorable discharge — because he was charged by a civilian law enforcement agency and his military service otherwise was good.

His attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.

A misdemeanor DUI charge doesn't by law preclude someone from serving in law enforcement, said Sean Smoot, chairman of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, but a hiring agency can certainly consider it.

“Some police departments would not have hired someone with one DUI,” Smoot said. “I am shocked an agency would hire someone with two DUIs, but multiple agencies apparently did.”

Massey's father, James Wilburn, has demanded the resignation of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell. “He does not intend to step down,” Campbell spokesman Jeff Wilhite said.

A statement from Campbell's office indicated that the county merit commission and state law enforcement board recommended Grayson's certification as an officer despite the DUIs, and he passed a drug test, criminal background check, psychological evaluation and 16-week academy course.

Body-worn camera video of the killing released last week has unnerved the capital city, where a 1908 race riot prompted the creation of the NAACP a year later.

“Black women are under attack,” said Teresa Haley, a consultant and founder of Visions 1908, a social and economic justice and education advocacy group. “As I watched the video, I thought, ‘This is not murder. This is an assassination.’”

In the video, Grayson and another officer search outside Massey's house for a prowler before knocking on her front door. Several minutes pass before Massey answers, during which time Grayson makes a comment that she's dead inside and calls impatiently for her.

When she opens the door, Massey, who had suffered mental health issues, says, “Don't hurt me,” acts confused and repeats, “Please, God.” Grayson responds in a condescending manner when asking if there's anything else he can do for her. As he tries to get her name for a report, he enters the house.

“His conduct before, during and after suggests that this guy was a loose cannon, and that’s being polite,” said Kalfani Ture, a former police officer, now assistant professor of criminal justice at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and an instructor in the New York Police Department's academy.

Inside Massey's home, video shows Grayson directing that a pan of water be removed from a flame on the stove. Massey appears to set it near the sink. After the two joke about Grayson moving away from her “hot, steaming water,” Massey inexplicably says, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

That prompts Grayson to pull his gun. Massey apologizes and ducks behind a counter, but when Grayson yells at her to drop the pot, she comes back up and appears to pick it up again. Grayson fires three times, striking her in the face. He then discourages his partner from getting his medical kit, explaining, “That's a headshot.” After relenting and retrieving his own, he returns to find emergency medical providers on the scene, drops it on the floor and says he won't “waste my med stuff.”

“That’s not characteristic of an officer. That is characteristic of someone who has a depraved indifference to human life,” Ture said. “And this incident is not an aberration. Someone like this is pretty consistent in in their display of this type of profile.”

Ture said Massey probably picked up the pot again because she had already put it down when Grayson told her to do so and was confused by his aggressive orders. He moved quickly to lethal force despite having cover from the threat — substantial distance from Massey and a counter separating them — and he had other options, including using a stun gun, chemical spray or easily overpowering the diminutive woman, Ture said.

Pulling his weapon escalated the incident, Wexler said.

“He should have slowed things down, communicate, have a plan B and know where the door is to get out of the house, not put himself in a position where he had no alternative but to use deadly force by standing still, pulling out his gun and barking orders,” Wexler said.