Footage shows US police shoot dead unarmed Black woman after 911 call
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Sonya Massey, 36, phoned 911 to report a probable intruder in her house before she was shot by responding Illinois police.
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Deputy Sean Grayson points his weapon at Sonya Massey before shooting her at her home on July 6, captured on a still photograph from body camera footage (Illinois State Police)
New body camera footage obtained by the Illinois State Police shows cops shooting dead an unarmed Black lady in her home after calling 911 to ask for aid from a suspected intruder.
The killing has sparked global outrage after years of police brutality, particularly against Black Americans with President Joe Biden stating that Sonya Massey "should be alive today."
One of the officers has been charged with murder. Massey, 36, phoned 911 to report a probable intruder in her house, and authorities arrived after midnight on July 6, according to the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office.
In the video, Massey is seen speaking to the cops who ask for her ID before requesting that she check on a pot of boiling water on the stove, stating, "We don't need a fire while we're here."
When one of the deputies takes a step back, Massey asks why, to which he laughs and says, "Away from your hot, steaming water."
Holding the pot, Massey calmly says, "Oh, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," causing a deputy to react, saying, "You better f****** not. I swear to God I'll f****** shoot you at your f****** face," drawing his gun.
Massey apologizes and crouches behind a counter as cops yell at her to drop the pot. They then round the corner of the counter and open fire, shooting her dead.
One of the cops later claimed that they were terrified of having the boiling water thrown at them. Officer Sean Grayson was charged with murder.
On Monday, Biden described Massey as "a beloved mother, friend, daughter, and young Black woman" and expressed that when calling for help, "all of us Americans-- regardless of who we are or where we live -- should be able to do so without fearing for our lives."
America's decentralized policing system, in which individual cities and counties are responsible for their enforcement, eliminates national training standards, making change exceedingly difficult.
To complicate matters, the United States has more firearms than people, therefore police officers frequently prepare for violent interactions.
