'I'll f---ing shoot you right in your f---ing face': Bodycam footage shows fatal shooting of Black woman in her home by deputy now charged with murder

Former Deputy Sean Grayson just before he fired at Sonya Massey (Illinois State Police)

Authorities in Illinois have released disturbing body camera footage showing the moments leading up to a white sheriff’s deputy shooting and killing an unarmed 36-year-old Black woman in her own home after she called 911 to report a possible prowler outside of her house.

As a result of the fatal encounter, Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson was fired and then charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and official misconduct in the slaying of Sonya Massey .

Grayson has pleaded not guilty and is currently being held in Sangamon County Jail without bond.

The footage from the July 6, shooting was released Monday afternoon by the state attorney’s office and posted to YouTube by the Illinois State Police (the video posted by ISP prevents third parties from embedding the footage).

In the footage, Grayson and another deputy respond to Massey’s home at about 1 a.m. and spend several minutes looking around the property and speaking to Massey on her front porch before following her into the house. Speaking mostly to Grayson, Massey seems somewhat hesitant to reticent to give the deputies information but quickly gives them her last name after Grayson says he needs it for his report and reiterates, “You’re not in trouble.”

Massey then says she wants to show the deputies her “paperwork,” but Grayson asks for her ID, saying, “Just a driver’s license will do and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

As she’s looking for the ID, Grayson appears to point to the kitchen where a pot of water is boiling on the stove and says, “We don’t need a fire in here.” Massey then goes to the kitchen, grabs two oven mitts and removes the pot from the stove. As she does that, both deputies appear to back away.

“Where are you going?” Massey says.

“Away from your hot steaming water,” Grayson responds with a chuckle.

Speaking slowly and casually, Massey then says, “Away from the hot steaming water? Oh, I’ll rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Grayson immediately puts his hand on his gun and shouts, “You better f—ing not. I swear to God I’ll f—ing shoot you right in your f—ing face.”

Before Massey can respond, Grayson pulls his gun and points it directly at Massey. She immediately shouts “I’m sorry” and appears to instinctively drop down to the ground with her hands up before going out of the frame. Grayson and the other deputy can then be heard screaming at her to “drop the f—ing pot,” before Grayson fires at her three times, hitting her in the face at least once.

Grayson did not turn on his body camera until after he shot Massey.

When the other deputy says he’s going to get his med kit, Grayson responds, “She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot.”

Grayson, who appeared to have cut the distance between him and Massey in half, then points out to the other deputy that the water from the pot Massey was holding “came right to our feet.”

“You know, what else do we do,” Grayson says to the deputy while standing just off the kitchen tile. “I’m not taking hot boiling water to the f—ing face and it’s already reached us.”

Grayson then goes to get the med kit while his partner renders aid to Massey, saying “She’s still gasping” and at one point wondering aloud what’s taking so long. Massey was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead.

When other authorities arrive on the scene, Grayson tells them Massey “had boiling water and came at me, with boiling water,” adding, “She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.”

A “Use of Force” expert who studied all of the available footage concluded that Grayson was not justified in using deadly force against Massey.

Following the release of the video, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul immediately released a statement referring to the encounter as “horrific.”

“The body camera footage is horrific, and I offer my deepest sympathy to Sonya Massey’s family as they relive a moment no family should experience. As the community reacts to the release of the footage, I urge calm as this matter works its way through the criminal justice system,” Raoul said. “In Illinois we have made sure that the law mandates independent investigations after officer involved shootings. In this matter it appears that the investigation by the Illinois State Police and the subsequent referral to the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s office have complied with the letter and spirit of the law by providing the appropriate transparency and moving toward accountability.”

The post ‘I’ll f—ing shoot you right in your f—ing face’: Bodycam footage shows fatal shooting of Black woman in her home by deputy now charged with murder first appeared on Law & Crime .