'How Are You Still Employed': Deputy Who Killed Sonya Massey Raised Many Red Flags

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy who was recorded shooting Sonya Massey in the head, left a path of red flags in his wake before he was hired by the agency, with a military discharge, multiple DUIs and six police jobs over four years, according to media reports.

“Seven months on. How are you still employed by us?” Logan County Chief Deputy Nathan Miller asked Grayson in a recorded meeting in late 2022, according to Capitol News Illinois.

“I don’t know,” Grayson replied, the outlet reported.

Since August 2020, Grayson, 30, worked stints as a part-time officer in Pawnee, Kincaid and Virden as well as full-time jobs for agencies in Auburn, Logan County and Sangamon County, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.

Before he came to Sangamon County, Grayson worked for a year as a deputy in Logan County, just to the northeast. According to a report obtained under a public records request, he was told he needed more training, including "high-stress decision-making classes," in November 2022 after he failed to follow an order to halt a high-speed pursuit, reaching 110 mph before colliding with a deer.

The Logan County records also include complaints of misconduct from two people Grayson arrested, including one in which a woman who admitted to having drugs in a body cavity claimed Grayson gave her a glove and told her to remove the contraband in front of him and another male officer. She later was taken to a hospital to have it removed and claimed Grayson burst through the curtain during the procedure. He denied both complaints and resigned from Logan County before the investigation was complete.

In March 2023, he arrived at a custody dispute at his mother’s Girard home regarding his nephews, pulled his badge, yelled at the responding Girard officer, and called the chief and mayor, Capitol News Illinois reported.

During at least some of his time in Logan County, Grayson was on light duty, fighting colon cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, according to Capital News Illinois.

When he applied at Logan County, an employment report from Auburn, south of Springfield, where he had worked previously, showed that while Grayson was always early for work, eager for training, receptive to criticism and had not faced disciplinary action, he struggled with report writing, was "not great with evidence — left items laying around office" and was "a bragger.”

Grayson was charged with driving under the influence in 2015 and 2016, and pleaded guilty both times, Macoupin County court records show. The first DUI led to his discharge from the military in February 2016 for "serious misconduct," according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel information, adding that Grayson had an unregistered gun in his vehicle.

Macoupin County State's Attorney Jordan Garrison confirmed that police found a gun in the center console, but Grayson did not face a weapons charge because he was a resident of Fort Riley, Kansas. Kansas has an open-carry firearms law.

Grayson received a general discharge under honorable conditions — rather than an honorable discharge — because he was charged by a civilian law enforcement agency and his military service otherwise was good.

Following Massey’s death July 6, Grayson was terminated from Sangamon County and charged with three counts of first-degree murder as well as aggravated battery and official misconduct.

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council had submitted a grievance to Sangamon County officials seeking to reinstate Grayson in alignment with standard procedure, but has since opted not to pursue it, according to WCIA.

Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell appeared Monday at a listening session attended by more than 500 people, where he said he had “failed the community” and asked for forgiveness but was adamant he would not resign, according to The State Journal-Register.

Massey called 911 around 1 a.m. about a possible prowler at her home, and Grayson was among the deputies who responded. She was moving a pot off the stove when one of the deputies told her he was stepping “away from your hot steaming water,” according to the body camera footage.

“Away from my hot steaming water?” she replied. “Oh, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

The mood shifted drastically as Grayson threatened to shoot Massey in the face, the footage shows. She apologized and ducked behind a counter as the deputies both drew guns and shouted at her to drop the pot that she had been holding, which she appeared to have left near the sink area of her kitchen counter when she ducked. She then popped back up and was seen holding what appeared to be the pot as three shots were heard and water was visible on the kitchen floor.

If convicted, Grayson faces prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, six to 30 years for battery, and two to five years for misconduct.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.