SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — County officials in Springfield, Illinois, have agreed to pay $10 million to the family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman shot and killed in her home last summer by a sheriff’s deputy responding to her call for help.
The Sangamon County Board approved the settlement Tuesday night, allowing taxpayers to avoid a drawn-out and likely traumatic lawsuit over the summertime shooting by former deputy Sean Grayson.
The county maintains a settlement fund with a balance of $1.5 million. But according to local news reports, county administrator Brian McFadden said the rest of the payment will come from reserves in other county funds.
“To pay for this particular settlement, we will not be raising taxes, we will not be issuing additional debt, we will not be cutting services,” McFadden said. “We can handle this through what is in place in those reserves.”
Massey’s family had scheduled a news conference for Wednesday morning.
Grayson, 30, is charged with first-degree murder in Massey’s death after her exchange with Grayson over removing a hot pot from a stovetop.
The case has drawn national attention as another example of police shooting Black people in their homes. It forced the premature retirement of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, who hired Grayson, and prompted an agreement with the Justice Department for more training on non-discriminatory policing, de-escalation techniques and dealing with mental health disabilities.
Massey, whose mental health issues were the subject of several 911 calls from herself and her mother in the days leading up to the shooting, called emergency responders early on July 6 to report a suspected prowler. Grayson and another deputy responded. During a conversation in her living room, Grayson noticed a pot of water on the stove and directed the other officer to remove it.
Massey retrieved the pot and joked with Grayson about how he backed away from it, then told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson yelled at her to drop the pot and drew his weapon. Massey apologized and ducked behind a counter. Grayson fired three shots, striking her just below the left eye.
Grayson remains jailed despite a unanimous 4th District Appellate Court ruling in November that his pre-trial detention was improper because prosecutors failed to show there were no conditions under which Grayson could be released without posing a threat to the community. Illinois eliminated cash bail in a law that took effect in 2023, allowing judges to order detention only with sufficient cause.
The Illinois Supreme Court is considering an appeal of that ruling.
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