Bodycam video from the Illinois State Police Department captured the moment a deputy shot a Black woman during a call for help at her home.
Sean Grayson, 30, fired three shots, striking Sonya Massey one time in the face as she ducked for cover behind a kitchen counter separating the two, according to court documents. The shooting followed a verbal exchange about a pot on
Massey, a mother of two teenagers, had called police regarding a suspected intruder in her Springfield home, said Ben Crump, the prominent US civil rights lawyer representing the family.
It is the latest in a running list of high-profile police killings of Black people, including George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Roger Fortson, that Crump has counseled.
The now-former Illinois sheriff's deputy pleaded not guilty to murder on July 18, according to court documents, one day after he was fired, arrested and charged in the fatal shooting.
A grand jury indicted Grayson, who is white, on five charges, including three counts of murder in the first degree, one count of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct. He was arraigned in Illinois' Seventh Judicial Circuit Court on Thursday and pled not guilty to all charges. He was jailed until his next court date on August 26.
According to the indictment, Massey had placed a pot of possibly hot water on the counter on Grayson's instructions. Grayson was in the living room when he then drew his firearm and threatened to shoot Massey in the face, prompting her to put her hands in the air, say, "I'm sorry," and duck for cover behind a counter separating the two.
The video is here: https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/07/23/729936/Sean-Grayson
Grayson moved closer, yelled at Massey to put the pot down and opened fire, the document said. He then activated his body camera, though his partner's camera was activated upon arriving on the scene. He is twice her size, according to court files.
Grayson did not render aid and discouraged the other deputy not to provide help. The second deputy, who was not named, stayed by Massey until medics arrived. She was pronounced dead at St. John's Hospital.
(Source: AFP)
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
