Illinois sheriff retiring after deputy he hired was charged with murder for shooting Sonya Massey

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois sheriff who hired the deputy charged in the death of Sonya Massey announced Friday that he will retire, five weeks after the 36-year-old Black woman was fatally shot in her home.

Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, who won the office in 2018, said politics stood in the way of his effectiveness as sheriff and suggested he and his family had received death threats. Campbell, a 30-year veteran of the department, had previously said he did “not intend to step down.”

“We must honor the life of Sonya Massey by ensuring that no one else falls victim to such tragic and senseless action. That has been my sincere mission since that fateful day,” Campbell said in a statement. “But it has become clear that the current political climate has made it nearly impossible for me to continue effectively in my role.”

A Republican, the 60-year-old Campbell said he would vacate his office no later than Aug. 31.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, demanded this week that Campbell step aside, saying he had not provided answers to questions about how Sean Grayson became a deputy in the central Illinois county that’s home to the state capital of Springfield. Grayson, 30, was fired after being indicted on murder and other charges in Massey’s July 6 killing.

Previously, Massey’s father, James Wilburn, called Campbell “an embarrassment” and called for him to quit.

Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his defense attorney has previously declined to comment on the case.

Authorities said that after Massey called 911 to report a suspected prowler, two deputies went to her residence in Springfield, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.

Sheriff’s body camera video released on July 22 confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled across a kitchen counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water. When he then threatened to shoot the unarmed woman, Massey ducked and briefly rose, and Grayson fired his pistol at her. Massey was hit three times, with a fatal shot to her head.

Massey was killed by a bullet that entered just beneath her left eye, according to autopsy findings. Those findings confirmed information previously disclosed by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon, including that Massey’s death was a homicide.

When Grayson was fired, Campbell said it was evident the deputy “did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards.”

Campbell said during a Department of Justice community listening session on July 29 that he would not resign but asked for the forgiveness of Massey’s mother, saying “I offer up no excuses.”

“We failed. We did not do our jobs. We failed Sonya. We failed Sonya’s family and friends,” Campbell said with emotion at Union Baptist Church in Springfield, The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reported.

Illinois law enforcement records show that Grayson’s policing career began with six jobs in four years. That career included short stints as a part-time officer at three small police departments and a full-time job at a fourth department as well as working full time at two sheriff’s offices, all in central Illinois.

Before Grayson began his policing career, he was kicked out of the Army for the first of two drunken driving convictions in which he had a weapon in his car, authorities said. But that didn’t stop multiple law enforcement agencies from giving him a badge. Grayson was convicted twice within a year of driving under the influence.

Law enforcement experts say those convictions plus his previous employment record should have raised serious questions when the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department hired him in May 2023.

“This man (Grayson) should have never had a badge,” Wilburn said. “And he should have never had a gun. He should have never been given the opportunity to kill my child.”

As he campaigned for the job, Campbell said he worked for the sheriff’s office for more than 24 years as a deputy before retiring in 2016. He ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 2014 but won four years later.

At a news conference in Springfield, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, said that the Justice Department had opened an investigation into the incident, “which is welcome, because there have been some concerns and revelations by the family that we think need to be investigated.” He said he did not know the scope of the probe.

The Department of Justice has only said it “is aware of and assessing the circumstances surrounding the tragic officer-involved death” and said it “will continue to track the criminal case.”

Grayson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct charges. He was being held without bond in the Sangamon County Jail. If convicted, he faces prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, six to 30 years for battery and two to five years for misconduct.

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