UPDATED (5:30 p.m.) — Sean Grayson was not in an imminent threat of harm from Sonya Massey, maintained an expert in police training
During a lengthy back and forth with defense attorney Mark Wykoff, retired police chief Louis Dekmar never wavered from his position that Grayson, a former deputy with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, escalated the situation just before 1 a.m. on July 6, 2024.
“Any perception of fear or danger was generated by the deputy by failing his policy and his training,” he said. “He has a duty to obey his policy and his training. That was clearly not done in this case, in my opinion.”
Wykoff tried repeatedly to get him to admit it was possible, under a hypothetical situation that Grayson could have feared for his life or that he would be severely hurt by Massey, who was holding a pot of boiling water.
In theory, the retired chief and now a consultant on police training, it was possible but It wasn’t how he saw it. Rather, he saw Massey as no threat to Grayson or his partner.
All that matters as there’s no debate on how Massey died. Grayson shot her in the head and she died from the excessive bleeding which resulted.
The issue for jurors when they go back to deliberate on charges of first-degree murder is whether Grayson acted within the bounds of his training and departmental policy.
Team Grayson says yes, that the former deputy didn’t want a pot of scalding water coming at him from a woman who appears to have been in the midst of a mental health issue.
But prosecutors disagree and point to testimony from Dekmar and other witnesses that Grayson violated departmental policy on use of force, not wearing his body camera and professional conduct, among others.
The trial will continue Friday.
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UPDATED (3:30 p.m.) — An expert in police training said Sean Grayson’s actions the night he shot and killed Sonya Masey were in “direct contrast” with departmental policy.
He did not have good tactical positioning, did not call for assistance and did not give the Springfield woman the proper space, moving closer to her minutes before he shot her in the head.
“Would you say the defendant’s actions were inconsistent to the Sangamon County policies and protocols?” asked First Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Beth Rodgers.
Responded retired police chief Louis Dekmar: “I would say they’re not only inconsistent, they’re in direct contrast.”
Grayson’s comments and conduct afterwards, when he called Massey “crazy,” also lent themselves to a violation of the sheriff’s office policy, as it went to how Grayson felt and acted during the incident.
It is not up for debate that Grayson, 31, killed Massey as she stood in her kitchen. At issue is whether he acted properly.
Grayson argues he acted in self-defense, that Massey had a pot of boiling water and was going to throw it at him. But prosecutors and Dekmar disagreed, saying it was Grayson’s own actions that put him at risk.
Dekmar took it one step further.
“His verbal commands and actions actually escalated in my opinion,” he said.
“Did Massey pose a threat to Grayson or his partner?” Rodgers asked.
“No, she was clearly very disoriented and confused,” Dekmar said.
UPDATED (3:20 p.m.) — It should have been clear not long after Sean Grayson and his partner spoke to Sonya Massey that she was in the midst of an emotional or mental crisis.
That’s the opinion of a former Georgia police chief who has consulted on thousands of police training and misconduct cases.
When Massey came to her door at around 12:50 a.m. on July 6, 2024, it was clear that she was certain she needed help.
“The defendant asked her if she was alright and her response was that she had her medication…it should have been clear to the deputies that she was going through some kind of mental health crisis,” said Louis Dekmar.
The chief, who spent 28 years as the chief in LaGrange, Ga., said he reviewed policies and training protocols of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and in his opinion, Grayson didn’t follow them.
When asked if Grayson’s commanding Massey while she was in her home or cursing at her was appropriate, he said no, adding that it wasn’t “consistent with crisis intervention training protocols.”
Moreover, the former chief said he felt that Grayson following Massey closely into her kitchen and continuing to order her to comply wasn’t the way to go. Crisis Intervention training usually calls for establishing a rapport with a person, giving them space and allowing them to process what was going on.
“You shouldn’t shout, you shouldn’t threaten, that’s only going to escalate the situation,” Dekmar said.
He added, “It appeared to me as he pointed the weapon at her that she kind of shrieked back like you would expect someone to do if there was a weapon pointed at them.”
By not giving Massey space and following too closely, Grayson put himself into jeopardy.
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 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 the bullet likely caused that and 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 were signs of marijuana in Massey’s blood.
That could have caused confusion, speech difficulties and lethargy, the attorney asked Patterson.
Yes, he replied.
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 it was the one which fired the bullet casings 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.
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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 gun 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 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, three prosecutors sat in a row, 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 three 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.
WMBD TV can be reached at News@WJBC.com.
