10 months ago
26
CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Appearing astatine the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Convention successful Chicago connected Wednesday, erstwhile President Donald Trump said helium was not acquainted with the constabulary sidesplitting of Sonya Massey, the unarmed Black pistillate who called 911 for assistance successful her Springfield, Illinois home.
“I don't cognize the nonstop case,” Trump said. “But I saw thing and it didn't look; it didn't look bully to me. It didn't look bully to me. Are you talking astir the water? Right?”
Former sheriff's lawman Sean Grayson is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated artillery with a firearm and authoritative misconduct successful the decease of 36-year-old Massey for the July 6 shooting.
Body-worn camera video released July 22 shows that wrong her home, Massey moved a cookware of blistery h2o from the stove, Grayson seemingly feared she would propulsion it astatine him. He fired 3 times, striking Massey erstwhile successful the look contempt having respective non-lethal options, authorities say. Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty.
At the NABJ Q&A, Trump was pressed connected his views that constabulary officers should unconditionally person qualified immunity, a ineligible doctrine that protects officers from idiosyncratic liability for violating law rights.
“Well, helium (Grayson) mightiness not (receive qualified immunity). I mean, it depends. It depends connected what happens,” Trump said. “I'm talking astir radical that are overmuch antithetic cases. We request to person our constabulary officers person the respect and dignity back. In this peculiar lawsuit (Sonya Massey), I saw thing that didn't look bully to me. I didn't similar it. I didn't similar it astatine all.”
Grayson was vetted and approved for hiring by Sangamon County successful May 2023 contempt 2 drunk-driving convictions, the archetypal of which got him ejected from the Army for “serious misconduct," and having six jobs successful 4 years, including arsenic a sheriff's lawman successful Logan County, wherever helium was reprimanded for ignoring a bid to extremity a high-speed pursuit and ended up hitting a deer.
