Sonya Massey killing inquiry resolved by Justice Department

Source: Scott Olson / Getty

Sonya Massey was murdered as far as we’re concerned and that isn’t just our “woke”  opinion. The criminal justice system also believes this to be fact as former sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson was fired, arrested, and charged with first-degree murder for killing Massey in yet another viral video depicting a Black person’s last moments alive while interacting with law enforcement. BOSSIP has reported extensively about this since the news first broke and today have a new update on the issue surrounding Massey’s “alleged” murder.

According to an official release from the United States Department of Justice, the DOJ has reached an agreement with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), Sangamon County Central Dispatch System (SCCDS), and Sangamon County, Illinois to effectively end an investigation into potential racial and disability discrimination in the law enforcement ranks and the dispatch service.

“The death of Sonya Massey was a terrible tragedy for a woman experiencing a mental health crisis, her family, and the entire Sangamon County community,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement reflects Sangamon County’s commitment to instituting reform and taking action that will help improve public safety and restore trust with the community in the road ahead.”

According to CNN, a memo of the agreements states that no instances of racism or discrimination on the part of SCSO or SCCDS was found during the investigation regarding Massey’s killing. In exchange of a clean bill of health, remedies like additional training and use-of-force data collection to ensure that the things that allegedly never happened, don’t happen again…

The agreement also ensures that mental health professionals will be on hand to be dispatched in times of crisis when a gun-toting, trigger-happy, boy in blue will only exasperate the situation.

Under the agreement, the entities will review and update policies, rules, and procedures and provide training on a variety of topics, including non-discriminatory policing and interactions with individuals with behavioral health disabilities. The agreement requires the development and implementation of a mobile crisis team program, which will include trained behavioral health staff who timely respond to individuals needing urgent behavioral health assistance.

We will continue to watch all things surrounding this case especially the Sean Grayson’s criminal murder trial.