The household of Sonya Massey and Sangamon county, Illinois, officers reached a settlement during which the Illinois county agreed to pay Massey’s household $10m.
The settlement comes almost a 12 months after Massey, a 36-year-old Black girl and mom of two, was shot and killed in her dwelling by a sheriff’s deputy who was responding to her name for assist.
The settlement will doubtless assist keep away from a lawsuit over the capturing by Sean Grayson, a former deputy. Grayson, 30, is charged with first-degree homicide in Massey’s loss of life.
Jack Campbell, a former Sangamon county sheriff, who employed Grayson, retired following the capturing. The county got here to an settlement with the justice division to make sure they’ve the instruments to adequately prepare its division in de-escalation strategies, coping with psychological well being disabilities and non-discriminatory policing.
Following the capturing, a citizen’s fee in Sangamon county, known as the Massey fee, was based to “to take motion and make suggestions that broaden protected and equitable entry to companies by addressing systemic racism and distrust in regulation enforcement and different serving to professions”, in response to the fee’s web site.
Earlier than county officers voted on the settlement, Andy Van Meter, the Sangamon county board chair, A launched a memo in regards to the capturing.
“No value paid can take again the actions of a rogue former deputy, however this settlement is an effort to supply some measure of recompense to the Massey household for his or her unimaginable loss,” the memo reads.
“The county stays dedicated to working with the group to strengthen insurance policies to attempt to make sure tragedies like this by no means occur once more.”
Massey’s loss of life obtained nationwide consideration as each one other instance of police brutality and the police killing of people that had been in want of psychological well being assist.
Within the days resulting in the capturing, each Massey and her mom known as 911 repeatedly for assist. Massey’s mom particularly requested the dispatcher to not ship anybody “prejudiced” and stated that she didn’t need anybody to harm her daughter.
On the day of the capturing, Massey herself known as emergency responders to report a suspected prowler. Grayson and one other sheriff’s deputy responded to the decision. Whereas speaking to Massey in her front room, Grayson advised the opposite deputy to take away a pot of water from the range.
Massey eliminated the pot herself, famous that Grayson backed away from it, and advised him: “I rebuke you within the title of Jesus.” Grayson drew his weapon and yelled at Massey to drop the pot. She ducked behind a counter and apologized. Grayson shot 3 times, and killed Massey with a shot to the pinnacle.
“When Sonya Massey was staring on the barrel of his gun, she stooped down, stated, ‘Sorry, sir, sorry,’ and the bullet was shot whereas she was on this stooped place, arising,” civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who’s representing Massey’s household, stated in a press convention final 12 months.
“The post-mortem confirms what everyone already is aware of, that this was only a mindless, pointless, extreme use of drive.”
After the killing, Massey’s household stated that she was a descendant of William Donnegan, a Black man who was lynched by a white mob throughout Springfield’s 1908 race riots, which killed 17 Black individuals over a two-day interval. Following the race riot, a gaggle of Black and white Individuals got here collectively to create the Nationwide Affiliation for the Development of Coloured Folks (NAACP). A relative famous final 12 months that Massey was taken to the identical hospital as her ancestor following the capturing. It was there that Massey was pronounced lifeless and the place, 116 years prior, Donnegan was additionally pronounced lifeless.
Massey’s household is predicted to carry a press convention in regards to the settlement on Wednesday, which might have been her thirty seventh birthday.
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