Illinois State Police have released footage of the moment a sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a black woman in her home after she responded to a call for help.
Sonya Massey, 36, was shot dead on July 6 as she took a pot of boiling water off the stove after police called 112 to report a suspected attacker.
His killing sparked widespread outrage and was condemned by US President Joe Biden.
Sean Grayson, the 30-year-old white police officer who shot him, was fired from his position at the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and charged with first-degree murder last week.
According to the indictment, he shot Ms. Massey three times. He also faces charges of aggravated assault and official misconduct. Grayson has denied the charges.
Newly released body camera footage shows how he and another police officer responded to Ms Massey’s call.
They arrived at his home in Springfield, about 200 miles southwest of Chicago, around 1 a.m. on July 6.
When police officers circled the area of his home, they found a black SUV with broken windows in the driveway.
Ms Massey said it took her three minutes to open the door after officers knocked on it and she immediately said “Don’t hurt me”.
She appeared confused as she spoke at the door. Mrs. Massey repeated that she needed help, appealed to God, and told them that she did not know who owned the car.
While deputies stand inside the house, the woman sits on the couch and rummages through her purse to identify herself so the deputies can complete a report before they leave.
Grayson then points to a pot sitting over flames on the stove.
“As long as we’re here, we don’t need fire,” he can be heard saying.
Mrs. Massey quickly gets up and goes to the stove, taking the pot near the sink, where she and Grayson appear to be laughing at her pan of “steamy hot water.”
She then says, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” after which Grayson points his gun at her and threatens to shoot her in the face.
As Grayson tells her to put the pot down, Ms. Massey says, “I’m sorry,” and begins to lean over. Grayson tells her again to put the pot down. The second officer draws his gun.
It does not appear that Ms Massey made any verbal threats or any gestures towards the officers.
Grayson takes two steps toward the kitchen, tells her to put the pot down again, and starts shooting.
He then informs his superiors that he shot Ms. Massey in the face and turns on his body camera. The entire incident was captured on the second officer’s camera.
Grayson was in the living room when he shot, facing Ms. Massey but separated by a counter separating the living room from the kitchen.
Prosecutors said the separation provided Grayson with “removal and relative protection” from both Ms. Massey and the hot water-filled boiler.
After Grayson shot the woman, he prevented his partner from getting a first aid kit to save her.
“You can go get it, but it’s a headshot,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do, man.”
“What else are we gonna do? I’m not gonna pour boiling water on my f*****g face,” she added.
When he realised Mrs Massey was still breathing, he relented and said he would get her kit too. The other deputy said: “The least we can do is try to stop the bleeding.”
Grayson told police at the scene: “He had boiling water and he came to me with boiling water. He said he would rebuke me in the name of Jesus and he came to me with boiling water.”
“Sonya’s death at the hands of a police officer is a reminder that black Americans fear for their safety in ways most of us do not,” Biden said in a statement Monday.
“I applaud the steps taken by the Springfield State Attorney’s Office. As we await prosecution, let us pray for comfort for those who are grieving,” he said, urging lawmakers to pass a stalled police reform bill named after George Floyd, who was choked to death by a white police officer in 2020.
“It’s shocking. I mean, every single piece of the video,” Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney representing Massey’s family, said at a briefing.
Mr. Crump said Ms. Massey may have appeared to have mental health issues but the officer was not justified in using deadly force. He said the video showed she was neither aggressive nor threatening toward the officers.
“Imagine what the narrative would be if there was no video,” Crump said.
Grayson’s attorney, Daniel Fultz, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The defendant was sentenced to prison until his next court date on Aug. 26.