An Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a woman inside her home, a death that led to protests about justice for the Black victim.
Sonya Massey was killed after Sangamon County deputies responded to her 911 call early on July 6, State’s Attorney John Milhiser said.
A statement from Milhiser doesn’t describe the circumstances that preceded the shooting at Massey’s home in Springfield, 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago. But he said a review of body-camera video doesn’t support the use of deadly force.
Deputy Sean Grayson was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct, Milhiser said Wednesday.
Ben Crump, an attorney for Massey’s family, said the 36-year-old woman had called police about a suspected intruder in her home. He said she was unarmed and shot in the face.
He shot a woman for no good reason. That’s enough. People care more when bad things happen to women.
It’s why black folks being a larger share of people shot by police than their share of population is definitely racist but no one bats an eye at more than 95% of folks shot by police being men.