A former Illinois deputy has been sentenced to 20 years for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 for help.
Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October of second-degree murder. Grayson, who is white, received the maximum possible sentence and has been in police custody since being charged in the killing.
Massey’s family members, who were sitting in the court, celebrated his sentence with a loud cheer: “Yes!” The judge admonished them.
Grayson apologized during the sentencing, saying he wished he could bring Massey back and spare her family the pain he caused.
“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” he said. “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”
Cops will go fucking nuts on someone merely because they don’t comply; their pea-brains simply cannot tolerate anyone who dares to question their authority.
Dude shouldn’t have even gone into the house, he refused to leave and deescalate, then murdered a woman instead of just walking out of the door of a place he didn’t even belong.
The problem is fear. In general, we don’t teach cops how to deal with complex situations. We don’t teach them how to deescalate potentially dangerous situations. We don’t teach them how to peacefully resolve conflicts. All they are taught now is Killology (AKA Warrior Training).
Grossman’s America is a terrifying place where police are both the primary targets of and defenders against superpredation. “Increasingly the police must face organized opponents armed with assault rifles and bombs,” Grossman says at the outset of the class, citing an “explosion in violent crime” and an “extraordinary rise in violence” in the streets of America.
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Grossman maintains that America is now scarier than ever—and that cops may well be the ones with the most to fear. “We know that if it were not for all the body armor, bulletproof vests worn by officers, law enforcement fatalities in the United States would easily be double or even triple what they are today,” Grossman asserts. “If this is not war, then you tell me what is.”
Cops out there now are terrified that they are constantly in the sights of one bad guy or another. They are in a state of constant terror that anyone might pull out a gun and murder them. People in that mindset cannot be trusted to be “peace” officers.
Is this the guy that teaches them when they murder someone it will be the best day of their lives?
The problem is cowardice.
There’s some of that, but I think it’s pride more than fear. Cops hate it when you don’t “respect their authority” or dare to assert your rights. They think they have the right to do whatever they want, no matter what the law says…
It didn’t seem like at any point the woman was in a state of mind to calmly invite them in. It’s like they always make the choice that maximizes their chance of shooting someone.
I saw footage of a different encounter where a bunch of police were hanging out right at her backdoor even though she was clearly distressed and didn’t even think about giving her space. Pretty sure they also shot her through a screen door while she was still in her house.
The woman reported a prowler and they had already checked the outside of the house. I wonder if they actually needed to go inside the house in the first place.
I wouldn’t voluntarily allow cops into my house unless the situation required them to enter my house.
Agreed. I wouldn’t let one of them shitbags in my house if they were offering me a sack full of cash and a harem of consenting porn stars unless it was absolutely required by law. If I get burgled I’m just going down to give my statement so I can get a case for my insurance company because I know they ain’t gonna investigate it and by allowing them in the house my odds of dying increase greatly.
It’s not even about anyone daring to question the authority, it’s anyone who they decide in that very moment is a threat (based on no logic at all). There are so many videos of American cops demanding people to do things they clearly can’t do or just are impossible to do, like two different things that are exclusive to each other. And tons of other videos of people doing exactly what they’re told but no the cop(s) already decided that they’re a threat no matter what.
They go nuts on people who do comply. They give conflicting instructions and then punish you when you don’t comply. ICE will ask for your ID and then walk away with it and never give it back.
They are all human garbage fires and I can’t wait for Nuremberg 2.0.
Cops have a stressful, often life-threatening job, no doubt. But so do a lot of people. My family has a history of working in psychiatric lock-ups with extremely violent mentally ill and developmentally abnormal patients, most of whom are being held because of murders and rapes they’ve committed (usually of their own families), and who would murder you if they had the chance/inclination to do so, because they simply don’t know any better. The nurses don’t carry firearms, they’re trained with a few restraining grappling technique and a lot of deescalation tactics. They don’t even have tasers. Put an armed cop in that situation and you’d have a ward full of corpses within a few days. Hell, put a regular prison guard in that situation and you’d have a similar outcome. But my family members aren’t MMA experts, and have never been [seriously] injured in their job. They’ve been properly trained, that’s all. Cops are trained like they’re being shipped off to 'Nam in 1969 to fight an unseen, non-uniformed enemy.
Dutch cops often walk around without guns.
Definitely a boys club and training issue in America.
The Netherlands doesn’t have more guns than people though. The US does.
Edit- this is not excusing cops shooting people, I am just saying that gunless cops makes more sense in a country where everyone isn’t armed to the teeth
Delivery drives have a more dangerous job than cops
I’d probably carry a gun as a delivery driver in some neighborhoods too
Ironically every corporation bars you from doing that because they would be liable. There are probably some small mom-and-pop places that advise drivers to carry. And of course plenty do despite the rules against it.
And why is everyone so obsessed with guns in this same US of A? I wonder if one begets the other. People have been fearing the police in America for a looooooooonnnnnnng time. Also, see the post you replied to. Just because you’re in the shit, doesn’t mean you need all the guns and ammo on the planet to do your job. If it’s a serious violence threat, then send in the swat. Patrol should be using guns as an absolute last resort, not a first inclination. The mentality is skewed, but no surprise there given the rest of things going on down there.
That makes it more dangerous for the us cops but doesn’t excuse shooting people without guns.
Fuck cops. No sympathy for traitors
What happens when restraining/de-escalation tactics don’t work and the unarmed civil servant gets raped and/or murdered?
A lot of people never see the inside of a psychiatric ward because their behavior is too dangerous for them to be brought in safely. If it was up to a nurse to apprehend them, some people will just take advantage of the opportunity.
Weak headline. Should read:
Cop gets 20 years for murdering woman who called 911 for help.
He’ll be out in no time. One quick X post calling on the racist POS in the Oval Office and he will be pardoned. I guarantee it.
It’s a state conviction.
Ok, probably an unpopular opinion, but at the VERY least he felt remorse. Like he didn’t double down.
It shouldn’t be a lot to ask for, but unfortunately these days, it seems so. I agree.
He expressed remorse before being sentenced. Who knows what he felt?
He was already convicted when he apologized. Probably hoping to not get the maximum sentence.
20 yrs is the maximum sentence.
Grayson was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, which could have led to a life sentence, but a jury convicted him of the lesser charge. Illinois allows for a second-degree murder conviction if evidence shows the defendant honestly thought he was in danger, even if that fear was unreasonable.
It could have been a life sentence but he played the “I felt in danger” card
Maybe but more likely his lawyer told him not to admit guilt until convicted. Assuming he pled not guilty.
These people are all liars, manipulators, rapists, abusers, and murderers. Part of the point of the trial is to find out if it was on purpose or not. And time and time again, magas always express sadness ONLY when punished, and then after, double down on it.
Not always. Some murderers are giddy after killing.
Devil’s advocate: If you saw the things that Hitler did and made others do, and then could be the one to kill him, I think there would be a significant portion of us who would get over human and living being empathy pretty quickly and then take quite a lot of deep, actual joy from ending him.
I realize what you’re saying, but it just made me wonder if maybe they aren’t so wrong after all. For the record, I’ve never killed another person, and have never seen another person die in real life, and all real people I’ve seen killed in video have been truly awful. Yet, I feel like I could take the life of somebody I decidedly thought were irredeemingly bad if needed, and not feel very much remorse. And yet, I don’t want to have to ever find out… But still, there’s that age old question: kill or be killed? And I may hesitate. My genetic family has made it this far, I’d like to believe it wasn’t full of blissful murderers, but we all know that that’s what we all were; it’s how we think about, and systemically settle our differences now and into the future that matters. Is reconditioning or even prison truly hubris? I can’t believe so. Humans are intelligent and capable of not only change but evolution, we now know that as fact. That I, alone believe in change, yet myself come from a long line of survivors in the age old question of kill or be killed, is evidence of the contrary. Even if the hubris is learned, proves that we are capable of change and hope for better.
Some murderers are gidddy after killing - I would argue that it doesn’t mean much. Even assuming they’re truly happy, it doesn’t define them as absolutely lost. Or maybe evolution states we purify the gene pool. What other things should we purify? Do you see the problem with that sort of fear? Maybe we should all be giddy with happiness to cleanse ourselves of perceived insanity. Or maybe the desire to do so is exactly how that murderer became that way to begin with.
I truly don’t understand what you’re saying here. Are you ok?
No, sir, I think the problem was the part where you shouldn’t have acted, but did.
Gosh this is just depressing to read, no wonder people hate cops https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Sonya_Massey
Its not even this, it’s so much simpler. Mistakes happen, but so many of their “mistakes” are 100% avoidable and no one is ever accountable for their shitty actions. Thats the main reason I hate cops. They’re arrogant assholes that just like to abuse citizens, and even when faced with irrefutable evidence of wrongdoing, “they did nothing wrong” by their dept.
Fast food workers are held under higher moral standards than the fucking cops. ACAB.
18 year olds in Iraq were held at a higher standard than police in the US. This could’ve been avoided if white America recognized police brutality in black neighborhoods
They arrogantly call themselves highly trained, highly paid professionals but when faced with reality they often panick and just start shooting.
He should get life with no parole. It’s not like she can come back after 20 years.
Couldn’t agree more. To serve and protect would have been to take the scalding, not their life. If you’re an officer the standard of conduct and consequence must be higher than for the citizen.
It says it’s the maximum. It’s better than failing to secure conviction on a higher charge.
Imagine youre in an emergency, call the hotline that specifically exists to HELP people in emergencies as quickly as possible, 24/7, and they fucking kill you.
RIP Sonya Massey. 20 years isn’t really enough. But when it comes to police the bar is so low for them to get held accountable it is better than nothing.
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He will be out in 5-7.
House arrest for the last 3 years also.
It’s really weird that they capitalize “black” in these stories. I get that it’s relevant to mention because these things happen to black people a lot more often, but that doesn’t make it a proper noun. They didn’t capitalize “white”. It seems like pandering and it’s kind of gross and racist in its own way.
It’s almost a proper noun thing. It’s not a race thing. It’s a language thing.
In the same exact quote they don’t capitalize “white”. It sure looks like a pandering thing.
Hm! I didn’t notice that
Except that’s not a proper noun.
It’s not a proper noun though. I know we use the word “proper” and it sounds like “better” but grammatically it’s not, it’s just a category.
I was JUST thinking about this. What a good time to hop on lemmy. Happy ending.
Well, I wouldn’t say it’s happy to be honest, a life has lost anyway. Not the worst one though, for sure
True. I guess I’m just jaded enough that I hope for anything other than “zero consequences for the officer; plus he’s still working as LEA somewhere” That shit’s actually terrifying
Not only a law enforcement failure, but the US healthcare system proves once again it sucks complete shit. Sonya was suffering from a mental disorder and let me guess, her shitty health insurance, if she had any, did not allow her to be in an institute.
What institutes? Reagan did away with them so now they just go to prisons. If you’re lucky you get 1 to 2 weeks in a psych ward of a hospital, then therapy appointments (which you somehow have to arrange transport). If you’re really lucky, you can get a group home. If you are really wealthy, you can get a service to help you in your own home. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I remember when this was on the news, I watched the video.
I want to believe the cop is actually sorry but I can’t trust any cop at this point.
Those tats say he is not sorry. He has some nice prison tats already.
What’s worse is that type of behavior is explicitly trained into these goons. This means there were people above Grayson that are probably looking at this as an assault on their way of life. They are not looking into the training they provide to see what could be done different.
20 years doesn’t feel like it should be the maximum sentence.
