Deputy’s fatal shooting of Sonya Massey highlights risky practice of hiring America’s legion of ‘wandering officers’
CNN
An Illinois deputy sheriff who killed a woman in her own home is part of what law enforcement officials and experts call America’s legion of “wandering officers” who drift from police department to police department – sometimes even after having been fired, forced to resign or convicted of a crime.
The Illinois sheriff’s deputy who gunned down Sonya Massey in her home last month is now listed as suspended on a statewide registry of officers who have been fired, forced to resign or had their law enforcement licenses revoked due to misconduct. The suspension of former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson’s law enforcement certificate came only after he was fired and charged with murder. On July 6, Grayson responded to a report of a prowler at Massey’s home. Bodycam footage from another deputy showed Massey saying she rebuked Grayson, and the former deputy threatening the 36-year-old woman. The encounter ended with Grayson shooting Massey in the head and failing to render aid. After being discharged from the Army for serious misconduct and a history of driving under the influence, Grayson was employed since 2020 by six Illinois law enforcement agencies – at three of them, as a part-time officer, employment records show. Grayson is part of what law enforcement officials and experts call America’s legion of “wandering officers” who drift from police department to police department – sometimes even after having been fired, forced to resign or convicted of a crime. “The shooting again underscores the critical need for police agencies to thoroughly vet potential hires,” the International Association of Chiefs of Police said in a statement Tuesday. “The pattern and nature of frequent job changes by a police officer should raise flags about their suitability for the policing profession.”
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