Body Camera Footage Shows Sonya Massey Speaking With Police Hours Before She Was Shot

Newly released body camera footage shows police responding to a 911 call about a Springfield woman having a mental breakdown — 16 hours before a sheriff’s deputy would fatally shoot her.

Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson has been charged with murder in the killing of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman. He has been widely criticized for treating Massey as a dangerous threat, rather than someone in distress.

The 45-minute video, first obtained by The State Journal-Register, shows Springfield Police Department officers arriving at Massey’s mother’s home.

In the video, Massey approaches an officer in a state of apparent distress. She tells police that the water and gas was shut off at her home, and that her belongings are inside her mother’s home.

“I just want my stuff and they won’t give it to me,” she tells them.

The officer meets Donna Massey, Sonya’s mother, at the door.

“She has been going crazy and this is the first time it has ever happened,” Donna Massey tells them.

She claims her daughter had been voluntarily sent to a mental health facility but had checked out within 24 hours, and says she takes antidepressants and has a variety of health conditions. Another individual, identified on camera as Massey’s aunt, tells authorities that she has never seen Massey act like this before.

Officers walk back outside with bags of Massey’s things, as medical personnel arrive. They ask Massey if she’s missed a dose of her medication.

“No, I’m good, nope. They want me to get off track,” Massey replies, though she adds later that she hasn’t taken any medication that day.

She tells police the night before she couldn’t sleep and felt “uncomfortable” and “unsafe” outside her home.

Medical personnel question her,