Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday he is “disappointed” by the answers he is hearing from a downstate sheriff about why his agency hired the deputy who shot and killed Sonya Massey, 36, in her Springfield-area home.
The shooting of Massey last month by former Sangamon County Deputy Sheriff Sean Grayson sparked protests in Springfield, Chicago and across the country and reignited a national debate over police use of deadly force against black people.
Grayson was fired and charged with murder in Massey’s killing, and the U.S. Justice Department is investigating the shooting.
At an unrelated news conference Tuesday, Pritzker criticized information released about the shooting by Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, who at a town hall meeting in Springfield last week said his office “failed Sonya’s family and friends” but that he would not resign.
“How this deputy sheriff was hired, his background, should have been taken into account. How he was hired is a huge question mark that still needs to be clarified. How did the sheriff end up hiring this person? He had to know his background, he had to know,” Pritzker said, without naming Campbell.
“Nobody hires anybody without doing a background check, so I have a lot of questions and I’m disappointed so far with the answers I’m hearing from the sheriff,” the governor said. “But I think the community is responding in the way that I think is appropriate, which is protesting, making their voices heard and demanding change.”
According to Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Council documents, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office was the sixth Illinois police department Grayson worked for in less than four years. Court documents also show that in the past decade, but before he entered law enforcement, Grayson has two DUI convictions in neighboring Macoupin County.
Campbell did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment on Pritzker’s remarks.
Grayson’s personnel file provided by the Kincaid Police Department, where he worked part-time, contains a document showing that he was discharged from the military for “serious misconduct.” The Associated Press, citing a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that one of Grayson’s traffic violations led to his discharge from the Army in 2016.
When Grayson applied to become a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, a psychologist who evaluated him said the candidate “seems to be a good fit for the position” and “likes structure and routine.” But the psychologist also said Grayson “scored low on a cognitive assessment.”
“It will take him longer to learn, process and apply new material than others,” the psychologist said.
Records also show that the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office spoke with other law enforcement agencies in the Springfield area where Grayson had worked, and that those agencies questioned his abilities as an officer.
A colleague of Grayson’s at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office said Grayson “is a good deputy but feels he needs more training,” records show.
According to the documents, one of Grayson’s references was a former Sangamon County deputy whose daughter was dating Grayson. The former deputy “highly” recommended Grayson, describing him as “a gentle, non-confrontational person with good communication skills.”
In statements released last week, Campbell addressed Grayson’s hiring.
“I generally look for these types of references and give more credence to those from people I trust and know have integrity,” Campbell said. “Their advice is invaluable in making informed hiring decisions.”
Campbell also downplayed comments from former employers that Grayson “needed more training.”
“This is not unusual for deputies with Grayson’s experience, and it is standard procedure for Sangamon County deputies,” Campbell said. “Grayson was then sent to a 16-week training academy, a requirement for all new and lateral transfer deputies in our office.”
According to the documents, Campbell also said that “no other law enforcement agency had reported any issues with Grayson prior to our hiring,” although during his time with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in 2022, Grayson was involved in a high-speed chase through the city of Lincoln before hitting a deer. According to one of his supervisors, Grayson “failed to exercise due care when proceeding through stop signs.”
Records showed that the supervisor interviewed Grayson after the incident and indicated there were discrepancies between Grayson’s report and the video, and recommended additional training.
On July 6, officers responded to a 911 call about a possible prowler outside Massey’s home in an unincorporated area outside Springfield. When Grayson, who is white, and another deputy officer arrived, Massey, who is black, took a few minutes to open the door and appeared confused. The two officers said they found no one around her house. Inside, a conversation ensued over a pot of boiling water on Massey’s stove.
According to body camera footage, Massey allegedly said, “Oh, I’m going to reprimand you in the name of Jesus,” before Grayson angrily responded, “You better not do it. I swear to God. I’m going to shoot you in the face.”
Grayson pointed his gun at her, telling her to drop the water jug. Massey said, “I’m sorry,” and ducked, according to the footage, and Grayson fired three shots at her shortly afterward. Massey, whose family said she suffered from mental health issues, died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Sangamon County coroner.
Grayson was taken into custody about two weeks after the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and misconduct in office.
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