Family of Sonya Massey Reaches $10M Settlement After Fatal Police Shooting, Pushes for Reform

On what would have been her 37th birthday, the family of Sonya Massey reached a $10 million settlement after a sheriff’s deputy shot and killed her in her home last July. The Sangamon County Board approved the agreement on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The deputy, Sean Grayson, was fired and now faces a first-degree murder charge in Massey’s death. Since the shooting, questions have surfaced about how he was hired, given his troubling history. Before joining the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department, Grayson worked for six different police departments in four years. He also had two DUI convictions and multiple professional concerns on his record. At an online news conference, civil rights attorney Ben Crump called the settlement “bittersweet.” “This is our first step in getting full justice for Sonya Massey,” Crump said. “We want civil accountability, criminal culpability, and legislative changes. We want the laws to prevent something like this from happening again.” A Push for Reform Massey’s death has spurred calls for stronger police hiring standards. Illinois State Rep. Justin Slaughter and State Sen. Doris Turner have introduced bills aimed at increasing transparency in law enforcement hiring. Their legislation would require agencies to share applicants’ disciplinary records and personal history....