Revealed: Sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson who killed unarmed black mom Sonya Massey in her kitchen has two previous DUI convictions as her father slams his job in law enforcement as 'an embarrassment to the country'

Sonya Massey's father remains outraged in the wake of his daughter's death at the hands of a sheriff's deputy in Illinois, questioning if he should have even been on the job after it emerged he has two previous DUI convictions. 

Massey, a 36-year-old black woman, was killed when she was shot in the head by Deputy Sean Grayson inside of the kitchen of her home after she called the Sangamon County Sheriff's department to report a suspected prowler on July 6.

Grayson, who has now been fired, joined the department in 2023. His DUI misdemeanor convictions go back to 2015 and 2016 respectively. The department was aware of his infractions when he was hired. 

In addition, it has become known that the former deputy has bounced around between six different law enforcement agencies since 2020.   

The mother-of-two's family have since confirmed that she suffered from mental health issues with The Guardian reporting that Massey was a paranoid schizophrenic. 

Sonya Massey, 36, is survived by her two children, son, Malachi and daughter, Jeanette

Flanked by civil rights attorney Ben Crump on Monday, Massey's father, James Wilburn raged about the shooting. 

'This man should have never had a badge. He should have never had a gun. What an embarrassment. What an embarrassment to this country.' 

According to her obituary, Massey was born in San Diego and was active in her local church in Springfield. 'She loved to do hair and spend time with her family,' one section reads. She was a mother to two children, a son Malachi, and daughter, Jeanette.

What led to the shooting of Sonya Massey 

Sean Grayson and another Sangamon County sheriff's deputy were called to Sonya Massey's home for a suspected prowler at 12:50 a.m. July 6.

The two officers searched the exterior of the home for 30 minutes, discovering only a car with smashed windows. 

During her interactions with the officers, Massey made several mentions of Jesus Christ and the Bible.  

Massey had placed a pot of possibly hot water on the counter on Grayson's instructions.

The victim made a comment about 'rebuking' Grayson in the name of Jesus Christ.  

Grayson was in the living room when he then drew his firearm and threatened to shoot Massey in the face, prompting her to put her hands in the air, say, 'I'm sorry.'

Massey ducks for cover behind a counter separating the two. 

Grayson moved closer, yelled at Massey to put the pot down and opened fire, hitting her three times, once in the head.

Grayson did not render aid and discouraged the other deputy not to provide help. 

The second deputy, who was not named, stayed by Massey until medics arrived. She was pronounced dead at St. John's Hospital. 

The shocking bodycam footage that was released on Monday showing Deputy Sean Grayson, 30, who is white, yelling across a counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water. 

He then threatened to shoot her, Massey ducked, briefly rose, and Grayson fired his pistol at her. Grayson comments to his partner that he shot in the head when the officer mentions getting a first aid kid. 

Both of Grayson's DUIs occurred between 2015 and 2016 in Macoupin County, a nearby county to where he was a sheriff's deputy. 

At his daughter's funeral on July 19, Wilburn made similar claims about Grayson's abilities to do his job, reports The Illinois Times. 

'They were all these red flags, and yet they still made him a deputy in this county,' he told a crowd of around 600 in Illinois. 

Grayson has pleaded not guilty to first degree murder, aggravated battery with a fireman and official misconduct after his indictment on July 17. 

Wilburn said that Grayson has worked with five different police departments in Illinois over a three year period. He referred to that as a 'red flag.'

Grayson was hired in Sangamon by Sheriff Jack Campbell in May 2023. Wilburn has also called for him to be fired. 

'I know they have lowered the standards for what is acceptable in law enforcement,' Wilburn said at his daughter's funeral.  

County spokesperson Jeff Wilhite told The Illinois Times that Grayson was never fired from his previous roles and had passed a background check. 

'Grayson had no use-of-force complaints or citizens' complaints while employed as a Sangamon County deputy. And to our knowledge, Grayson had no complaints filed against him at prior law enforcement jobs,' Wilhite said.

Misdemeanor DUI convictions do not disqualify persons from becoming law enforcement officers in Illinois.  

Crump, who was also present at the funeral, warned attendees that the upcoming release of the bodycam footage would shock them. 

A deputy's body cam shows Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson on Sonya Massey doorstep on July 6 after she called them to report a prowler

James Wilburn has called the fact that Sean Grayson held a badge, an 'embarrassment' to our country

Sean Grayson faces life in prison if he is convicted of three counts of first degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct

Massey's family held a funeral for her on Friday, accompanied by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump

In the press conference on Monday, Wilburn evoked other black people who have lost their lives at the hands of police officers over the years. 

'I kind of feel watching, it's a dream; I'm going to wake up. But I just don't know. I don't know what to say. I saw this happen in the George Floyd matter. I saw this happen in the Breonna Taylor matter, and I had to say to God, 'Why me? Why my child?''

Wilburn went on to say that he is a former law enforcement officer. 'Some of my best friends are in law enforcement. I'm former law enforcement, so it's embarrassing,' he went on. 

'A person like that because of his white privilege it allows him to think he can do something like that and get away with it.'

In a criminal complaint related to the case, an independent investigator with the Illinois State Police concluded that Grayson was 'NOT justified in his use of deadly force. 

'He likened the scenario to an officer intentionally and unnecessarily putting himself in front of a moving vehicle and then justifying use of force because of fear of being struck,' one section of the document reads.

'The other deputy still rendered aid and stayed with Ms. Massey until medical help arrived,' while Grayson 'at no time attempted to render aid to Ms. Massey,' First Assistant State's Attorney Mary Rodgers wrote in the complaint.  

Massey's mother Donna Massey, holds a sign reading: 'Say her name' at a protest following her daughter's killing 

The home in Springfield, Illinois, 200 miles south of Chicago, where Massey was shot dead 

Heartbreakingly, Wilburn then said that his daughter's final words to him were: 'Daddy, I love you.' 

Wilburn went on to allege that their family were never told that that Massey's death was an officer-involved shooting. They learned about it when they read it in the news.  

In the video, Massey ducked and apologized Grayson seconds before he shot the her three times in her home, with one fatal blow to the head.

The video confirmed prosecutors' earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled from across a counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water. 

He then threatened to shoot her, Massey ducked, briefly rose, and Grayson fired his pistol at her.

Authorities said Massey had called 911 earlier to report a suspected prowler. The video shows the two deputies responded just before 1 a.m. on July 6 at her home in Springfield, 200 miles southwest of Chicago. 

They first walked around the house and found a black SUV with broken windows in the driveway.

She seemed confused as they spoke at the door, and she repeated that she needed help, referenced God and told them she didn't know who owned the car.

Inside the house, deputies seemed exasperated as she sat on her couch and went through her purse as they asked for identification to complete a report before leaving. Then Grayson pointed out a pot sitting on a flame on the stove.

'We don't need a fire while we're here,' he said.

Massey immediately got up and went to the stove, moving the pot near a sink. She and Grayson seemed to share a laugh over her pan of 'steaming hot water' before she unexpectedly said, 'I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.'

'You better f***ing not or I swear to God I'll f***ing shoot you in your f***ing face.' He then pulled his 9mm pistol and demanded she drop the pot.

Massey said, 'OK, I'm sorry.' In Grayson's body camera footage, he pointed his weapon at her. She ducked and raised her hands.

Grayson was still in the living room, facing Massey and separated by a counter dividing the living room and kitchen. Prosecutors have said the separation allowed Grayson both 'distance and relative cover' from Massey and the pot of hot water.

During Monday's press conference, James Wilburn evoked the memory of George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer in Minnesota in 2020

Derek Chauvin, the US police officer whose murder of George Floyd sparked massive racial justice protests in 2020, is shown here

Massey's death has sparked massive protests in the city of Springfield

After Grayson shot her, Grayson discouraged his partner from grabbing a medical kit to save her.

'You can go get it, but that's a headshot,' he said. 'There's nothing you can do, man.'

He added: 'What else do we do? I'm not taking hot f***ing boiling water to the f***ing face.' 

Noting that Massey was still breathing, he relented and said he would get his kit, too. The other deputy said, 'We can at least try to stop the bleeding.'

Grayson told responding police, 'She had boiling water and came at me, with boiling water. She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.'

During the Monday afternoon news conference, the family's lawyer, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, called Grayson's 'revisionist' justification 'disingenuous.' 

She needed a helping hand. She did not need a bullet to her face,' Crump said of Massey.

Asked why Massey told Grayson, 'I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,' Crump said she had undergone treatment for mental health issues. He noted that she invoked God's name from the beginning of the encounter and asked for her Bible after the deputies stepped inside.

Grayson, who was fired last week, is being held in the Sangamon County Jail without bond. If convicted, he faces prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, 6 to 30 years for battery and 2 to 5 years for misconduct. 

His lawyer, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for Massey's family 'as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss.'

'When we call for help, all of us as Americans – regardless of who we are or where we live – should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,' Biden said. 'Sonya's death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.'