TMZ.com
The sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed Sonia Massey claims he was afraid she would throw a pot of boiling water at him, but based on the horrific police camera footage… his family and lawyer don’t believe it.
Ben Crump is representing Sonya’s family and joined us on “TMZ Live” Tuesday alongside her father, James Wilburnand asked what they thought of the digital camera footage showing their deadly interaction with authorities.
Ben says Sean Grayson — the Sangamon County sheriff charged with first-degree murder — doesn’t appear to be fearing for his safety in the footage, as instead of backing away from Sonya as she holds a pot of boiling water, he moves toward her.
Crump thinks Grayson was getting closer to Sonya, so he might have a better chance.
7/6/24
Remember, Grayson fired 3 shots, one of them hit unarmed Sonya in the headand then instructed his partner not to bother providing medical assistance as she lay bleeding on the kitchen floor.
Grayson mentioned he feared for his safety, but Illinois State Police said their review found his use of force was NOT justified.
Crump is taking it a step further… and thinks that if Grayson was truly afraid, he would have walked away from Sonya and never approached her.
Sonya’s father says he was initially misled that this was a police-involved capture — and tells us he never thought his daughter would be part of something like this. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black people killed by the police.
CBS
James says his daughter’s death was particularly exhausting for him …and he’s certain that this would have caused the heart failure if not for a recent coronary artery bypass surgery.
Bottom line for Ben… the congressman’s excuse here is “stupid.”