The family of Sonya Massey, the unarmed Black woman killed by police in July 2024 , wants an Illinois state law changed that allows police officers to be hired by other departments despite shady records, the Chicago Sun-Times reports .
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, claimed that a reform of the controversial Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act could have prevented his daughter’s death. Signed into law by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker in 2021, the legislation expanded efforts so decertified police officers couldn’t work for other departments throughout Illinois.
Before a change in the law, officers could only be decertified if convicted of a felony and specific high-level misdemeanors, such as aggravated assault or domestic battery. Now, several forms of misconduct are considered grounds for decertification, including tampering with video evidence or failing to provide aid to a victim after using force.
It was revealed that the record of Sean Grayson, the officer who shot and killed Massey on July 6, held a long line of negative offenses that should have been a red flag for hiring departments. Before being hired by Sangamon County in May 2023, Grayson had six law enforcement jobs in four years . He also had two drunk-driving convictions and was ejected from the U.S. Army for “serious misconduct.”
When he worked for a sheriff’s deputy in Logan County, Grayson was reprimanded for ignoring a command to end a high-speed chase that resulted in a deer being hit.
Wilburn called on state Sen. Doris Turner to start the call to have the bill changed. “Illinois can be No. 1, state senator,” Wilburn said. “Introduce the bill tomorrow, that when you resign in lieu of being fired from a police department, you don’t go on to the next one.”
He recommended it be named “The Sonya Massey Bill.”
While Turner labels herself a family friend of the Masseys, she admitted that the process isn’t that easy. “Before we file any new legislation, we always look at what’s currently on the books,” she said. The SAFE-T Act created a new process called discretionary decertification. The process allows the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board to investigate a complaint of misconduct made by a citizen or law enforcement agency.
Before the tragic shooting, there was nothing on Grayson’s record that would result in an automatic decertification . Since April 2024, Chicago nonprofit Impact for Equity found no officer had faced discretionary decertification since the SAFE-T Act provision took effect in 2022.
However, according to CNN, deaths such as Massey’s are avoidable. Grayson has been filed under what experts call a legion of “wandering officers” who go from police department to police department after being fired , forced to resign, or convicted of a crime. The International Association of Chiefs of Police says the continuous pattern should be a red flag.
“The shooting again underscores the critical need for police agencies to thoroughly vet potential hires,” the statement read.
“The pattern and nature of frequent job changes by a police officer should raise flags about their suitability for the policing profession.”
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