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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

MVP #KamalaHarris, the likely Democratic presidential nom, on Tues condemned the killing of #SonyaMassey, an unarmed Black woman who was shot in her house by an #Illinois #police officer this month after she called 911 to report a prowler.
 In a statement, #Harris said Massey “deserved to be safe.” 
#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #Justice #VoteBlue #Harris2024
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/22/body-cam-deputy-charged-sonya-massey/

Bodycam video shows deputy fatally shoot woman who called 911 for help

Sean Grayson, an ex-sheriff’s deputy in Illinois, is charged with murder in the shooting of Sonya Massey as she held a pot of water in her kitchen during a call for help.

The Washington Post

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

On Monday, police released body-camera footage of fmr Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy #SeanGrayson & another officer inspecting the property around Massey’s house early on July 6, followed by 18 mins of a relatively normal interaction w/her. Then, within 10 seconds, the call turned deadly when Grayson pulled his weapon, ordered Massey to drop a pot of hot water & then fatally shot her in the face.

#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

“After she called the police for help, she was tragically killed in her own home at the hands of a responding officer sworn to protect & serve,” MVP #KamalaHarris said in her statement.

#Harris said the “disturbing footage released yesterday confirms what we know from the lived experiences of so many — we have much work to do to ensure that our #justice system fully lives up to its name.”

#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

“I join President #Biden in commending the swift action of the State’s Attorney’s Office & in calling on #Congress to pass the #GeorgeFloyd Justice in Policing Act, a bill that I coauthored in the #Senate,” MVP #KamalaHarris said. “In this moment, in honor of Sonya’s memory & the memory of so many more whose names we may never know, we must come together to achieve meaningful reforms that advance the safety of all communities.”

#SonyaMassey #BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #Harris2024

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

Around 12:50AM on July 6, Grayson & another deputy responded to #SonyaMassey’s 911 call about a prowler near her house, prosecutor Mary Rodgers wrote in a sworn affidavit. They arrived at her home & searched the area. Although they discovered what appeared to be a car that had been broken into, they did not find a prowler. They then knocked on Massey’s door, spoke w/her for a few minutes & went inside to make sure it was safe & to get more info, Rodgers said.
#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

As the 2 deputies walked toward the kitchen, Grayson noticed a pot on the stove & allowed #SonyaMassey to remove it to prevent an accidental fire, she added. Massey turned off the stove, carried the pot to her sink & turned on the faucet, the video shows.

“Where are you going?” she asked the other deputy as he backed up further into her living room.
 “Away from your hot, steaming water,” one of them said, according to the video.

#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Nonilex

Then, #SonyaMassey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
 “Huh?” one of the deputies responded. “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she repeated.
 #SeanGrayson warned her not to. “I swear to God I’ll shoot you right in your … face,” he said, using an expletive.
 That’s when he drew his gun & pointed it at her, despite, as investigators would later note, having cover & being some distance away from her.

#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

“OK, I’m sorry,” #SonyaMassey said as she held up the pot in front of her & ducked behind the cabinets that separated them.
 Grayson came toward Massey & “aggressively yelled” at her, Rodgers said.
 Then, he allegedly fired 3 times at Massey, hitting her once in the face.
 Only then did Grayson turn on his body camera, Rodgers said, in contrast w/the actions of the other deputy, who turned on his camera upon arriving at Massey’s house.

#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

#SonyaMassey weighed 110 pounds & wasn’t a physical threat to Grayson, who is 6-foot-3 & 228 pounds. 
After the shooting, the other deputy told Grayson he was going to get a medical kit from his vehicle, Rodgers said. Grayson initially told him not to bother given the severity of Massey’s injury but then said he could get it. The other deputy rendered aid & stayed w/Massey until EMTs arrived, Rodgers said.

#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

In the seconds after the shooting, Grayson defended firing at Massey, saying to the other deputy that the water had reached his feet. “What else do we do? I’m not taking hot boiling water to the … face,” he said, using an expletive.
 Medics took #SonyaMassey to HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, where she died.

That day, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office asked the Illinois State Police to investigate the shooting.

#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

A use-of-force expert w/the Illinois State Police watched the #BodyCam footage of both deputies & determined that the shooting was not justified.…

On Monday, after the footage was released, #POTUS #Biden said that #SonyaMassey should be alive & that her death “reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”

#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

#Biden said #SonyaMassey’s death should spur #Congress to pass the #GeorgeFloyd #Justice in Policing Act (#HR1280), which was introduced in March 2021, 10 months after its namesake, a 46-year-old Black man, was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer. Negotiations to pass the legislation broke down soon after, & lawmakers never mustered enough support to get it to the president’s desk.

#BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Nonilex Jul 23, 2024

The #legislation would increase the use of #BodyCameras, restrict the use of #QualifiedImmunity, ban #NoKnockWarrants & #chokeholds in some cases, limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to police departments & create a national database for officer misconduct allegations.

#SonyaMassey #GeorgeFloyd #HR1280 #law #Justice #BLM #SystemicRacism #PoliceViolence #VoteBlue #Harris2024

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Court Cantrell does not comply Jul 24, 2024

@Nonilex I wish they would include mandatory, deep psychological testing in this kind of legislation. Maybe racism and white supremacy aren't a mental illness, I dunno. But intensive psychological vetting would keep badges out of the hands of arrogant, fear-driven, violently angry men who have no conscience and don't value human life that doesn't look like them.

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Chris Espinosa Jul 24, 2024

@Nonilex We need to normalize arresting police and holding them until trial on no bond.

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Rick Jul 24, 2024

@Cdespinosa @Nonilex We also need to abolish the notion that officers get to put their safety above that of others. Their job is to put themselves in harm’s way to improve safety for everyone else. The doctrine that police are not responsible for an individual’s safety is asinine.

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Chris Espinosa Jul 25, 2024

@JetForMe As is the assertion that police deserve the right to summarily execute anyone, anywhere, because their jobs are uniquely dangerous.

The fact is that the on-the-job fatality rate for police officers ranks 17th in general occupations, below “First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers.”

I somehow doubt that the courts have granted qualified immunity to the guy dispatching the weed-whacker crew.

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-police-officers-die-in-the-line-of-duty/