The deputy sheriff who shot Sonya Massey to death in her Illinois home last month reported that he interpreted the Black woman's unexpected exclamation, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,”—made after she called 911 for assistance—as an indication of her intent to cause deadly harm, said the deputy’s field report released on Monday. “I interpreted this to mean she was going to kill me,” Grayson wrote, adding that when he drew his pistol and Massey ducked behind a counter that separated them, he moved around the obstacle fearing that she was going to grab a weapon. Grayson, a 30-year-old Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy, faces first-degree murder, aggravated battery and official misconduct charges in the death of the 36-year-old Springfield woman on July 6. which has drawn nationwide protests over the killing of Black people by police in their homes. Grayson has pleaded not guilty.
“Sonya turned to face me holding the pot. I did not know the type of liquid that was boiling,” Grayson wrote ihree days after the incident. “I advised Sonya to put the boiling liquid down. Sonya stated (she) was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus. She stated this twice. I interpreted this to mean she was going to kill me.” Upon hearing the religious admonition, GraysonV drew his pistol and barked commands to “drop the (expletive) pot.” Massey ducked behind the counter, rose up and appeared to grab the pan again before diving for cover. Grayson said he stepped toward and around the counter to keep Massey in sight, wary that she might have a hidden weapon. “As I approached the cabinet, Sonya stood up from a crouched position, grabbing the pot, raising it above her head and throwing the boiling substance at me,” Grayson reported. It’s unclear from the video whether Massey attempted to toss the pan’s contents, and she was obscured from view when Grayson fired three 9 mm rounds, one of which struck Massey just below the eye.
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