'Heartbroken' Joe Biden breaks his silence with call for justice for black mom Sonya Massey after she was killed by white cop who shot her in the face

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President Joe Biden declared himself 'heartbroken' while stating that 36-year-old black woman Sonya Massey 'should still be alive today' after she was shot dead by a sheriff's deputy inside of her kitchen in Springfield, Illinois, on July 6.

Massey had called 911 to report a prowler on her property, around 200 miles south of Illinois. After two Sangamon County Sheriff's deputies searched the vicinity, they went inside the home to talk to Massey. The press release came in the wake of the release of the horrific bodycam footage in the incident. 

During a brief, seemingly affable conversation, in which Massey was holding a pot of boiling water, Deputy Sean Grayson, who was hired despite previous DUIs, shot the woman dead after she made a comment about 'rebuking him in the name of Jesus.'

Massey's daughter has confirmed to The Guardian that her mother was a paranoid-schizophrenic. 

This latest statement is the first statement that Biden, 81, has made since shocking the world on Sunday by announcing that he would not be standing in the 2024 election against Republican Donald Trump. 

Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris, 59, seems likely to earn the Democratic Party's nomination after receiving the support of most of the party's major figures, including Biden, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Senator Amy Klobuchar. 

Deputy Sean Grayson's gun drawn as Sonya Massey cowers for cover in her kitchen on July 6 

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

'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 wrote in reference to Massey's death. 

'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.'

Last week, Grayson pleaded not guilty to charges of first degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. 

The bodycam 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. 

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

It took Massey three minutes to open the door after the deputies knocked, and she immediately said, 'Don't hurt me.'  

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.

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.'

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

Once inside, deputy Sean Grayson started arguing with Massey about a pot of boiling water on the stove and raised his weapon 

Grayson is seen peeking around the corner of the counter roughly 30 seconds after first opening fire

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

During a 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.

During Massey's funeral on Friday, Crump said the video, which he and the family had already viewed, would 'shock the conscience of America.'

Massey's father, James Wilburn, demanded the county court system be completely open with its investigation and prosecution and transparent with the public.

'The only time I will see my baby again is when I leave this world,' Wilburn said. 'And I don't ever want anybody else in the United States to join this league.'

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.

Massey’s death is the latest example of black people killed

in recent years by police in their homes.

In May, a Hispanic Florida sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Roger Fortson, when the Air Force senior airman opened the door of his home in Fort Walton Beach armed with a handgun pointed down. The deputy, Eddie Duran, was fired.

In 2019, a white Fort Worth, Texas, officer fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window of her home after responding to a nonemergency call reporting that Jefferson’s front door was open. 

Aaron Dean, the former officer, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.

In 2018, a white Dallas police officer fatally shot Botham Jean, who was unarmed, after mistaking his apartment for her own. Amber Guyger, the former officer, was convicted of murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Crump has represented families in each case as part of his effort to force accountability for the killings of Black people at the hands of police. 

Crump also has represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man who died after he was strapped face down on a stretcher in December 2022. Two emergency medical professionals face murder charges in that case.