Calls for change echo in downtown Chicago during rally demanding justice for Sonya Massey

CHICAGO — Calls for change echoed out in the Loop on Saturday as a large group gathered for a rally and march following the deadly shooting of Sonya Massey, a Springfield woman who was killed by a deputy who responded to her 911 call in early July.

For several hours, the group gathered as they demanded change and marched in an effort to spread their message beyond Federal Plaza.

Those who gathered said they felt that what happened in Springfield represented a much larger issue.

“Sonya Massey was a mother, she was a sister, she is a daughter,” Reverend Chauncey Brown said during Saturday’s rally.

Massey’s death sent shockwaves around the nation after body camera video showed her final moments.

The video, which was released earlier in the week , showed the sudden escalation leading up to the deadly shooting when 30-year-old Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson opened fire on Massey.

Massey, a 36-year-old mother of two, had faced mental health struggles and sought treatment. She called police in the early morning hours on July 6, to report a suspected prowler around her home in an unincorporated neighborhood of Springfield.

Two deputies responded to the home, including Grayson, who was 14 months into his career as a deputy sheriff and has since been terminated from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office.

After searching around the home, Massey met the deputies at the front door before all three entered her home.

Once inside, Grayson asked Massey to present her ID for their police report, but as she searched her purse, the deputy pointed to a boiling pot of water that was sitting on the stovetop.

As Massey moved toward the stove to move the pot toward the sink, the deputy, who was standing in the adjacent living room, took a step back.

Massey asked the deputy where he was going and he said “Away from your hot, steaming water.” Massey then said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Following the statement, Grayson pulled out his gun and began yelling at Massey to put down the pot.

In the video, Massey can be seen ducking before Grayson opened fire, fatally hitting her in the head.

An autopsy report released by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon on Friday confirmed that Massey died from a gunshot wound to her head.

Grayson has since been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

Grayson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

If convicted, Grayson could face up to 45 years to life for murder, 6 to 30 years for battery and 2 to 5 years for misconduct.

“It was one of the most horrific murders we’ve ever seen in recent history, if not all of history,” rally organizer Faayani Aboma Mijana, from the Chicago Alliance Against Racism & Political Oppression, said.

Details revealed following the shooting showed not only a breakdown in communication within the department but also with Massey’s family .

The body-worn camera video also showed that Grayson had initially discouraged his partner from trying to save Massey’s life.

“We all got to see how a police officer stood by as a woman was murdered right in front of his face,” Justin Russell, who spoke at the rally said.

Rallygoers demanded an overhaul of the system and called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act , something Massey’s family has vocalized.

The proposed reform aims to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement, and build relationships in communities by addressing systemic racism and bias.

“It’s important that we meet these moments with tangible things,” Aboma Mijana said.

President Biden signed an executive order to advance the act after it was blocked by senate republicans, but it hasn’t gone any further and organizers say he’s coming up short on a promise he made to black voters who helped get him into office.

“Our platitude is to create a mass movement strong enough to force them to do it because they’re not going to do it on their own. They’ve shown themselves not to do it on their own,” Aboma Mijana said.

Following the release of the footage, President Biden released a statement , expressing heartbreak and praising the state’s attorney for his office’s swift prosecution.

On Friday, Vice President Harris called and spoke to Massey’s family members and is said to have offered her condolences.

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