Final summer time, on July 6, we realized of a brand new purpose for the police to kill an unarmed Black particular person: a pot of sizzling water.
Sonya Massey, then 36, known as 911 when she suspected an intruder at her dwelling in Springfield, Illinois.
In line with an Illinois State Police abstract of her capturing demise, when police arrived, deputies did certainly see a automobile at Massey’s dwelling that seemed damaged into. After knocking on the door, the 2 officers claimed they discovered her “distraught and never pondering clearly.” However as a substitute of treating her as an individual in want of assist, she was finally handled as a felony, and after an change, subsequently executed.
Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson, reportedly roughly 10 toes from Massey, motioned to a pot on the range in her kitchen. At one level, Grayson responds to Massey, “Getting away out of your sizzling, steaming water.” In response, the abstract says she repeats twice, “I rebuke you within the title of Jesus,” Massey stated twice.
Grayson greeted that with, “I swear to God. I’ll shoot you proper in your f—— face.”
And so he did, however not earlier than she dropped the pot and crouched under a line of cupboards together with her arms within the air after apologizing as he drew his gun and pointed it at her.
Although she did get again up and grabbed the pot once more in protection, when she threw the water, Grayson’s response was to fireplace his gun 3 times – one of many bullets went straight into her face.
If this doesn’t sound barbaric sufficient, after the capturing, when the second deputy within the dwelling claimed he deliberate to retrieve a medical equipment, Grayson informed him to not. The opposite deputy did anyway and remained with Massey till medical assist arrived. Grayson by no means bothered to assist the distressed girl he was despatched there to assist, however ended up capturing her within the face.
He has since been indicted on prices of first-degree homicide, and extra lately, a brand new pre-trial date has been set, and he’ll stand trial Oct. 20 for the homicide of Sonya Massey.
Massey’s household attended the transient pre-trial listening to earlier than Seventh Circuit Courtroom Presiding Decide Ryan Cadagin final month.
Sontae Massey, a cousin of Sonya Massey, informed reporters, “We’re going to be at the entire hearings. They may have 100 hearings between now and Oct. 20. We’ll be at each one among them.”
In February, the household reached a $10 million settlement with officers in Sangamon County, Illinois.
As a lot as they search justice for her killing, nevertheless, a separate interview highlights that past her victimhood, Sonya Massey was a mom and a loving one who has left behind a gap within the hearts of household, buddies, and the folks in her group.
Talking with NewsChannel20 in Springfield, Illinois, forward of the one-year anniversary of her capturing, Massey’s household described her as “a hard-working mom who ensured her children had been nicely taken care of.”
Certainly, her son, Malachi Hill-Massey, spoke fondly of his late mother in an interview with the Springfield State Journal-Register forward of his highschool commencement.
“She confirmed me methods of her being caring,” Hill-Massey defined. “She’s a helper, a carer, for everyone. She would assist anyone earlier than she would assist herself.”
He stated he completed faculty early “for his mother” and Sonya’s mom, Donna Massey, stated in the identical interview, “We’re so glad that he’s made his mama proud,” she stated. “We are able to really feel her shining down on us. I do know she’s glad.
And he has a plan: he’ll attend commerce faculty for heating, air flow, and air con, citing his mother as his motivation to succeed.
Nonetheless, it was arduous to learn him say, “I give it some thought on a regular basis,” about her killing.
“I’m younger. I would like my mother nonetheless.”
And as a grieving son, I associated to him saying he’s following the trial “as a lot as I can,” however “I’m nonetheless grieving. It’s a carrying course of. I’ve misplaced folks earlier than, however when it’s somebody you’re with actually each single day, somebody I talked to each single day, it’s totally different.”
As for her shooter, Sean Grayson, charged with Sonya Massey’s homicide: “You’ll be able to’t say it’s not mindless. You had been presupposed to be defending her. How might you flip your gun on her? Why would you even take into consideration deadly pressure earlier than a taser? He might have tased my mother. He might have pepper-sprayed her, something earlier than capturing her.”
As irritating as her loss stays, I take heed to her cousin Sontae Massey’s warning that whereas the world remembers Sonya as “the tiny girl talking to the police within the closing moments of her life, she’s a lot greater than that.”
“I miss her on a regular basis,” Sontae shared. “I miss the Sonya that, I might go over to mother’s home, and we’d crack jokes, and she or he would make enjoyable of me and she or he would share fun with me. I miss that Sonya.”
The household stated that they really feel the hype of Sonya’s title has began to die down, thus doing interviews like that one to do the whole lot of their energy to maintain her title alive.
That’s admirable, particularly given the circumstances, however allow us to do our half to assist hold her title alive.
Not solely as a sufferer of police brutality, however as a loving mom, daughter, cousin, and good friend who brightened the lives of the folks round her, and like far too many Black folks on this nation, continues to have their mild unjustly and premature dimmed.
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