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    Heartbreaking request Sonya Massey’s mom made to 911 dispatchers before her daughter was shot by officers

    By Isabel Keane,

    4 hours ago

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1jwAy6_0ukcuiYj00

    Sonja Massey’s mom made a heartbreaking 911 call before her daughter was s hot dead by a sheriff’s deputy — pleading with the dispatcher not to send a “prejudiced” cop who might “hurt her.”

    Donna Massey called 911 around 9 a.m. July 5, a day before her daughter, an Illinois mom of two, was killed by a responding deputy now charged with her first-degree murder, newly released recordings show.

    The panicked mom begged for help for her daughter, who was a “paranoid schizophrenic” suffering a “mental breakdown” — while also admitting she was “scared of the police.”

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=15liXv_0ukcuiYj00
    Sonya Massey, 36, was shot dead in her own home after calling cops about a possible intruder on July 6. AP

    “I don’t want you guys to hurt her, please,” the mom pleaded a day before her daughter’s death.

    “Please don’t send no combative policemen that are prejudiced.”

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    In other 911 calls, a woman who doesn’t identify herself says people want to hurt her, and a day later, a woman identifying herself as Sonya Massey reports a neighbor had hit her with a brick.

    When Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies arrived, bodycam footage showed Massey repeatedly saying she was just “trying to get help.”

    She was eventually shot dead inside her home by a deputy who threatened to “shoot [her] in the f–king face” for holding a pot of water, the bodycam footage showed.

    Massey, 36, died from a gunshot wound just below her left eye, Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said, with her death officially declared a homicide.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1O1Gi5_0ukcuiYj00
    Sonya Massey’s mom, Donna, warned 911 dispatchers of her daughter’s mental breakdown. AP

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    Massey’s family is being represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who called for a complete investigation and slammed the sheriff’s department’s response given the repeated pleas for help.

    “The 911 calls capture the heartbreaking pleas of Sonya’s mother who desperately sought help for her daughter while expressing her deep fears about the potential for violence at the hands of the police,” Crump said in a statement.

    “Despite these warnings, Sonya, a woman struggling with her mental health, was met with deadly force in her own home.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3tAPRz_0ukcuiYj00
    Sean Grayson speaks with his partner after shooting Sonya Massey in a still from the bodycam footage. via REUTERS

    “The failure to provide the appropriate response to a mental health crisis has resulted in an irreversible loss for the Massey family and underscores a systemic issue that must be addressed,” he said.

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    Deputy Sean Grayson , who is white, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in the shooting death of Massey, who was black.

    He was fired from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office after pleading not guilty to the charges. He is being held without bond.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1T9DFS_0ukcuiYj00
    Sean Grayson, 30, is facing murder charges. AP

    “Grayson immediately escalated to deadly force based on the decedent stating, ‘I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,’” Chief Deputy Anthony Mayfield wrote of the decision to fire him.

    “When Deputy Grayson pointed his firearm at the decedent, she was not making any aggressive movements, only talking.”

    Grayson’s failure to “attempt non-violent strategies and techniques” or to communicate led to Massey’s death, Mayfield said.

    Records revealed that he worked short stints at multiple Illinois police departments . At the time of Massey’s death, Grayson had been with Sangamon County for 14 months.

    With Post wires

    For top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com.

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