UPDATED (2:00 p.m.) — Jurors in the Sean Grayson murder trial learned that mature police officers tend to be the ones who can deal with challenges to their authority, while immature ones cannot.
Sgt. Anthony Rigano, who retired from the Elgin Police Department and who teaches crisis intervention training, said “the better someone is at conflict resolution, the better they’re going to be at their jobs.”
The 40-hour class goes through de-escalation tactics to find ways to avoid incidents from blowing up into something more. He gave the example of officers in Texas who forced their way into a bathroom where a man was armed with a knife.
That, he said, is “officer created jeopardy” and goes along with the theory behind Grayson’s prosecution, that his actions escalated things at Sonya Massey’s house which ultimately led to her death.
Grayson, 31, is a former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy who in on trial for murder related to the deadly shooting on July 6, 2024 at Massey’s home.
Rigano taught Grayson in March 2023. It wasn’t immediately clear how Grayson did in the course, as it wasn’t brought out in court.
But the training is meant to make officers feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations and find ways to get compliance without further escalation. It also puts some common police practices on their head.
In a crisis situation, it’s about active listening and not peppering for questions or immediate compliance. Rather, it’s about projecting empathy, the instructor said.
UPDATED (10:54 a.m.) — Jurors in the Sean Grayson trial saw autopsy photos of Sonya Massey that showed she had been shot just below her left eye.
The photos are graphic. Some members of Massey’s family cried when the pictures were shown. A few had to leave the room.
Prosecutors argued it was important to their case to show how the woman died. Defense attorneys sought to have the photos not admitted and shown to jurors, saying they were too prejudicial and could inflame the passions of the jury.
Pictures of the internal autopsy were shown. The brain had been removed. The top of the skull cut away. X-rays shown bits and pieces of the bullet within her head.
Nathaniel Patterson, a forensic pathologist with the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office, said Massey’s internal carotid artery, which goes up to the brain, was also severed.
He said that was likely done because of the bullet as such, her cause of death was acute blood loss due to being shot in the head.
State’s Attorney John Milhiser asked if Massey could have lived if she had gotten immediate medical care and been rushed into surgery? Patterson said it was possible.
During his cross examination, defense attorney Mark Wykoff focused on toxicology results which showed that there signs of marijuana in Massey’s blood.
That could have caused confusion, speech difficulties and lethargy, the attorney asked Patterson.
Yes, he replied.
And Wykoff also noted Massey had Gabapentin in her system. That’s a drug that affects the central nervous system and can act as a depressant.
It seems the questions were aimed to buttress Grayson’s contention that Massey wasn’t in the proper frame of mine and that she was going to throw a pot of boiling water at him.
The court adjourned for lunch at about 11 a.m. and will be resume at 1 p.m.
UPDATED (10 a.m.) — The parade of crime scene investigators continued Thursday morning in the Grayson trial.
It’s not like what is seen on TV but it’s necessary for prosecutors to show what happened at the scene and whether shell casings found at Massey’s home matched up with Grayson’s firearm.
Hali Carls-Miller, who does firearm investigations for the Illinois State Police forensic crime lab, held up Grayson’s 9mm Glock 45 handgun and confirmed it was the one she had test fired and that it was the one which fired the projectiles found at Massey’s home.
But she said, under cross-examination that she could not state why the weapon was fired.
The court is again on a 15-minute recess.
______________________________________________
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Pictures of Sonya Massey’s ID card and a phone near a pool of blood were shown to jurors, as well as the weapon that was used to kill her.
Adam Markwell, with the Illinois State Police crime scene investigation team, went through what he found and the photographs he took at Massey’s house on July 6, 2024, as well as a few days later when he went back to the house.
Among the things shown was a photo of Sean Grayson. He was in his uniform. Pictures were also shown of his duty weapon. Those pictures were taken as part of the normal course of the investigation into the Massey’s death.
In addition to pictures, the actual items were shown to jurors in court, including the gun and shell casings found at the scene.
Markwell went back to the house on July 8, two days after the shooting, when he learned that three shots, not two, were fired at Massey. The first two casings were found fairly quickly on July 6, but the third bullet was found two days later in the trash.
At some point, prosecutors are expected to put on their experts regarding use of force.
Team Grayson huddled in the minutes before the trial got started. Attorney Dan Fultz spoke to Grayson, 31, several times, whispering into his ear as the two men stood by the defense table.
On the other side, prosecutors sat, three abreast, waiting for the session to begin. State’s Attorney John Milhiser took a few notes. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a light blue tie.
Grayson faces multiple counts of first-degree murder in connection with Massey’s July 6, 2024, death. He maintains he acted properly, that Massey was threatening him with a pot of boiling water.
The court is now on a 15-minute break.
