Sonya Massey’s Son Accuses Police Of Covering Up Her Murder
The son of Sonya Massey, who was killed by former Illinois Deputy Sean Grayson, is accusing the Sangamon County Police Department of trying to cover up who shot his mother.
During a press conference on Jul. 23, Malachi Hill-Massey described the moments when he found out his mother was a victim of police brutality. The 17-year-old suggested the hospital explained his mother’s injuries but never said who gave them to her. “Well they told me, well I got a call from the hospital, actually, I never got a call from the police, but they told me that my mom got shot in the eye and it came out her neck,” he said.
“And they didn’t tell me who, they were just saying ‘somebody’.’ They never would tell me who. They just kept on saying someone shot her. They would bever tell me who shot my mom.”
The grieving son continued to say he was the one that had to give the bad news to his grandmother. The teenager sat down for an interview with CBS News with his grandmother, Donna Massey. She experienced the same story her grandson spoke of and said the police kept changing their story, even telling the doctors Massey committed suicide. “They said it’s under investigation, then they said that they told the doctors at the hospital that she committed suicide—and then they changed it,” the grieving mother said.
“They kept changing the story.”
However, Hill-Massey said the case isn’t over as he is determined to get justice for his mother that he called “a ball of love.” A good mother. She was very smart and always helped everybody but herself. Just a ball of love, honestly, to me. She cooked me the best food. I love her food, honestly,” he said.
“She’s just the most loving person ever. I don’t know. That’s the person that made me just feel so loved.”
Massey was shot by Grayson on Jul. 6 after she called police over a suspected prowler. Things turned deadly when bodycam footage showed Grayson shot Massey after he told her to move a pot of water that was heating up on the stove. Before she could actually move the pot, he “aggressively yelled” at Massey and pulled out his 9mm service weapon.
The victim then responded by putting her hands in the air and saying “I’m sorry” and tried to duck for cover, but Grayson shot her in the face. Experts say Massey wasn’t considered a reasonable threat at the time she was killed and some feel the whole incident should have ended on the front porch.
University of Pittsburgh School of Law Professor and use-of-force expert David Harris said the first mistake made by both Grayson and his partner was entering Massey’s home. “This never had to happen,” Harris said. “The whole encounter could have ended on the front porch.”
According to The Guardian, attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said the Department of Justice launched an investigation. “What we don’t want to happen is a Laquan McDonald situation,” Crump said, expressing concern over Hill-Massey’s accusations. McDonald was the 17-year-old boy who was shot 16 times by police in 2015.
The whole ordeal was caught on video and the police department and former mayor Rahm Emanuel fought to keep the footage from the public’s eye.
