By CNN
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
Years before sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson gunned down Sonya Massey in her own home, he had been discharged from the Army for serious misconduct and had a history of driving under the influence, records show.
He also failed to obey a command while working for another sheriff’s office in Illinois and was told he needed “high stress decision making classes,” the agency’s documents reveal.
Grayson, who was a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy before he was fired and charged with murder, responded to a report of a prowler at Massey’s home July 6. Bodycam footage from another deputy showed Massey saying she rebuked Grayson, and Grayson responded by threatening the 36-year-old. The exchange ended with Grayson shooting Massey and failing to render aid.
Massey’s death stirred memories of other Black women who have been killed by police in their homes in recent years, including Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson.
Massey’s autopsy report, which was publicly released Friday, said she was killed by a gunshot wound to her head.
Her family’s attorney emphasized the angle at which the deputy shot Massey.
Massey “was shot beneath her eye, and the bullet (exited) at the back of her neck, under her ear,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump told CNN. “What it tells us is that he shot her in a downward trajectory.”
When asked for comment Friday, Grayson’s attorney Daniel Fultz told CNN: “I don’t wish to comment.” READ MORE…
