Deputy who killed Sonya Massey was removed from the Army, had DUIs and needed ‘high stress decision’ classes, records show

Before he killed a mother in her home, former sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson had a history of problems in the Army and another sheriff’s agency, records show.

Years before sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson gunned down Sonya Massey in her own home, he had been discharged from the Army for serious misconduct and had a history of driving under the influence, records show. He also failed to obey a command while working for another sheriff’s office in Illinois and was told he needed “high stress decision making classes,” the agency’s documents reveal. Grayson, who was a Sangamon County, Illinois, sheriff’s deputy before he was fired and charged with murder, responded to a report of a prowler at Massey’s home July 6. Bodycam footage from another deputy showed Massey saying she rebuked Grayson, and Grayson responded by threatening the 36-year-old. The exchange ended with Grayson shooting Massey and failing to render aid. Massey’s death stirred memories of other Black women killed by police in their homes in recent years, including Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson. Massey’s autopsy report, which was publicly released Friday, said she was killed by a gunshot wound to her head. Her family’s attorney emphasized the angle at which the deputy shot Massey.