Newly released video shows former Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson predicting he’ll be released from jail and telling deputies he’s in jail custody for his own safety. NBC Chicago’s Bennett Haeberle reports.
Newly released video shows former Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson predicting he'll be released from jail and telling deputies he's in jail custody for his own safety.
"That's what the state's attorney agreed. That's what the state's attorney made the charges, so. They said this is for my own safety to put me in custody, so … so here I am," Grayson can be heard telling deputies on the video obtained by NBC 5 Investigates.
Grayson faces charges of three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct for the July 6 shooting of Sonya Massey.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Body camera video from the scene shows Grayson and another deputy responding to Massey's home for a suspected prowler.
But once inside, the interactions changed. Grayson drew his firearm and fired three times after Massey said, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."
Grayson noted in his field report released earlier this week that he fired because he feared his life was in danger as Massey held a pot of boiling water.
He wrote that Massey held a pot of boiling liquid above her head and threw it at him. It's difficult to see what transpired as Massey ducked behind the kitchen counter. There's also no audio from Grayson's body camera because he started recording after the shooting and stands in front of another deputy whose body camera was activated.
Two days before the shooting, dispatch records show both Springfield Police and the Sangamon County Sheriff's office had responded to Massey's mother's house and Massey's home on mental health concerns. Her mother urged a dispatcher not to send police who might hurt her daughter, saying she had suffered a mental breakdown.
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It's not clear what information was shared with Grayson and his fellow deputy.
The case has drawn national attention, raised questions about Grayson's judgement and hiring and renewed attention on law enforcement's use of deadly force. In his firing, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell has said that his agency failed Massey and that circumstances existed for Grayson to de-escalate the situation.
The new jail booking video, obtained by NBC 5 Investigates through a Freedom of Information Act request, was recorded on July 17 as Grayson is being booked into the Menard County jail, one day before his first court appearance on charges related to the fatal shooting.
Nearly 90 minutes into the video, Grayson is talking with a Menard County deputy about the jail's low inmate population – which is currently only 5 inmates – when he says:
"Well, this whole SAFE-T Act bullsh*t … that's why hopefully I'll be out tomorrow," referring to his initial appearance on July 18.
Grayson has remained in custody.
According to a transcript of his July 18 appearance, a judge wrote that Grayson's comments about Massey after the shooting and lack of rendering aid "are so far out of bounds of societal norms that it suggests that there's no condition that would be sufficient. Simply no longer working as a police officer or home confinement or electronic monitoring or any other conditions that are oftentimes used cannot sufficiently mitigate the threat of someone who acted in this way."
But Grayson is due back in court Friday as his attorneys are expected to argue he should be released and placed on electronic monitoring.
In a motion filed with the court, his attorneys said the Menard County jail is unable to treat Grayson's medical needs, which include having colon cancer.
During the jail booking video, deputies with both the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office and the Menard County Sheriff's Office can be heard discussing how to temporarily keep Grayson's name off the county jail's website for what NBC 5 Investigates was told were initial security concerns.
Before Sangamon County sheriff's deputies depart the jail, one of them tells Grayson: "Alright, Sean these guys will take care of you."
Later, two Menard County deputies can be heard telling Grayson: "You are free to ask if you need something, we'll get you through it."
In response to NBC 5 Investigates questions, the Menard County Sheriff's Office denied that Grayson was getting any preferential treatment.
"Mr. Grayson is not receiving any special treatment or being afforded any privileges not afforded to other inmates of the Menard County Jail," Chief Deputy Ben Hollis wrote in an email to NBC 5 Investigates.
Grayson's attorney has not responded to our requests for comment.
