Illinois County to Pay $10 Million After Fatal Shooting of Black Woman

An Illinois county has agreed to pay $10 million to the family of Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who was fatally shot by a white sheriff’s deputy last year after she called 911 because she thought a prowler was outside her home.The Sangamon County Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the settlement following intensive negotiations with representatives of Ms.Massey’s family, it said.“No price paid can take back the actions of a rogue former deputy, but this agreement is an effort to provide some measure of recompense to the Massey family for their unimaginable loss,” Andy Van Meter, the board chairman, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The county remains committed to working with the community to strengthen policies to try to ensure tragedies like this never happen again.”Ben Crump, a lawyer for the Massey family, called the settlement “bittersweet.” He said in an online news conference that the family was also seeking legislative changes and a criminal conviction of Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy who has been charged with murdering Ms.Massey, 36, in her home in Springfield, Ill., on July 6, 2024.Ms.

Massey’s family has said that she was experiencing a mental health crisis when she called 911 to report a prowler outside her home.A day earlier, Ms.

Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, called 911 to say that her daughter was having a mental breakdown and asked the police to recognize that she was in a vulnerable state.“I don’t want you guys to hurt her, please,” she told a dispatcher.When Mr.Grayson and another deputy responded to Sonya Massey’s call the next day, they searched outside her home and then followed her inside.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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