Officials in Sangamon count .
The agreement came last week between lawyers for Massey’s family and lawyers representing the county was unanimously approved on Tuesday night by the Sangamon County Board.
The civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who represents the family of Massey, held a virtual press conference on Wednesday about what would have been his 37th birthday.
Crump said that “it is only the first step in the journey through justice.”
He and Antonio Romanucci, another family lawyer, called the “historical” settlement.
“We understand that this, with much, is the largest agreement reached in Sangamon County of any kind, much less a case of civil rights like this,” Romanucci said.
He retreated against the criticism that the amount was too low, saying that he reached 50% of the annual budget of the Sheriff’s office.
“This settlement is magnanimous, and it is very relevant, and it is very significant, because, as Ben knows, we are not in Minneapolis, we are not in Memphis, we are not in Louisville,” he said, referring to others the cities where he and Crump have Negotiated or are negotiating settlements for the families of the black people killed by the police. “We are in Sangamon County.”
The county administrator did not immediately return a request for comments.
Massey called the 911 early on the morning of July 6 to inform an alleged Meroder outside her home. The then deputy of the Sangamon County Sheriff, Sean Grayson, and another deputy, who has not been identified, responded, according to the images of the body chamber.
Grayson, who is Blanco, pointed out a pot of boiling water in the stove, and while Massey recovered it and drove the pot, he said twice: “I rebuked you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson shouted him to release the pot, and while he bent down, he shot three shots, one of which hit her under his left eye.
Grayson said in a written report three days after the shooting that feared “great bodily damage” or death because Massey said: “I rebuked you in the name of Jesus.”
Before the shooting, Grayson had worked for six agencies for the application of the law in the center of Illinois in four years. Almost two weeks after Massey’s murder, he was fired and accused of first -degree murder, aggravated aggression with a firearm and official misconduct. He declared himself innocent and remains in jail.
His lawyer declined to comment on Wednesday.
Sonya Massey’s father, James Wilburn, said Wednesday’s press conference that Sangamon County and some of the other agencies where Grayson worked were responsible for the death of her daughter.
The records obtained by NBC News indicate documented problems with the performance of Grayson in some of its previous employers.
“I think it should never have been hired,” Wilburn said.
The Sheriff’s office did not immediately return a request for comments.
The day before the shooting, Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, had called 911 looking for help for her daughter, who worried that the police could hurt, Donna Massey told a dispatcher in recordings published by the department of the Sheriff.
After his murder, the name of Massey joined a growing list of black residents triggered in their homes by the police throughout the country, including Botham Jean in 2018, Atatiana Jefferson in 2019 and the senior aviator of the Roger Air Force Fortson last year.
Massey’s fatal shooting also forced the premature retirement of the Sheriff from Sangamon County, Jack Campbell, who hired Grayson, after residents and governor JB Pritzker asked him to resign.
Pritzker said at that time that Campbell had failed in his work because he hired Grayson despite the problems documented with Grayson’s performance in the previous agencies.
Grayson’s employment history, and two sentences in DUI, in 2015 and 2016, led the family of Massey and others to question why he was allowed to work in the police. The 2015 condemnation led to its high premature army the following year.
The Massey case caused a memorandum of agreement between the United States Department of Justice and the Sheriff’s office, in which the County promised a series of changes, including more training, policy updates related to non -discriminatory surveillance and the Notification of force use data.
The Department of Justice did not find discriminatory practices of the Sheriff’s Office or the County Emergency Office operation in relation to Massey’s death.
