DOJ opens civil rights investigation of Illinois sheriffs office after shooting of Sonya Massey [Video]

The Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation of Illinois’ Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office four months after a deputy fatally shot Sonya Massey while responding to her call about a possible prowler outside the 36-year-old Black woman’s home.The July 6 encounter between Massey and two county sheriff’s deputies who came to her home near Springfield ended with deputy Sean Grayson, who is white, shooting her following a dispute involving a pot of hot water in her kitchen, body camera footage shows. Grayson was fired and charged with murder and other offenses.In a letter Thursday to county officials, the Justice Department said the shooting “raises serious concerns about SCSO’s interactions with Black people and people with behavioral health disabilities.” A copy of the letter was obtained by WICS.The shooting also raises concerns about the SCSO’s “policies, practices, procedures, and training regarding community policing, bias-free policing, response to behavioral health crises, …