The Illinois sheriff who hired Sean Grayson, the deputy who killed Sonya Massey in her home, has asked for “forgiveness” from the community over her death but rejected calls for his resignation.
“We failed Sonya. We failed Sonya’s family and friends. We failed the community,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell told residents in Springfield on Monday night. “I stand here today before you, with arms wide open, and I ask for your forgiveness. I ask Ms. Massey and her family for forgiveness.”
Campbell was speaking at a listening session organized by the U.S. Justice Department, which is investigating Massey’s death. Grayson, who is white, shot and killed Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, in her home on July 6 after she called 911 to report a suspected prowler.
It was the first time that Campbell has addressed the public in person since Massey’s killing. Yet the sheriff maintained that he would not step down.
“You are the reason I ran for sheriff,” he told residents on Monday. “My commitment to you has never wavered. It still doesn’t. I cannot step down. I will not abandon the sheriff’s office at a most critical moment. That would solve nothing; the incident would remain. I vow to listen and learn.”
Grayson was hired by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in May 2023 — his sixth job at a law enforcement agency since 2020. He was fired on July 17, nearly two weeks after he killed Massey. Massey’s family members have questioned why the sheriff’s office hired Grayson in the first place, given his history of disciplinary problems and red flags at law enforcement agencies where he previously worked. It’s unclear whether Campbell or any other Sangamon County officials were aware of Grayson’s performance issues at his previous jobs, NBC News reported. However, the sheriff’s office said it was aware of his misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence in two separate prior incidents. Grayson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in Massey’s death. His attorney, Dan Fultz, declined to comment about his history of disciplinary issues.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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