10 months ago
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(NewsNation) — The household of an Illinois woman, Sonya Massey, who was fatally changeable by a Sangamon County sheriff’s lawman aft calling 911 for help, volition clasp a property league Wednesday afternoon.
Ben Crump, who is representing the family, is expected to talk astatine Wednesday’s property league arsenic well. NewsNation section affiliate WGN writes that the household plans to code calls for legislative alteration successful Massey's sanction and the caller resignation announcement by Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell.
Body camera video from July 6 shows erstwhile lawman Sean Grayson, who is white, yelling crossed a room antagonistic successful Massey's home, telling her to acceptable down a cookware of blistery water. After Grayson threatened to sprout her, Massey, who was unarmed, ducked and concisely rose. When she picked up the cookware again, Grayson fired his 9 mm pistol 3 times, hitting Massey conscionable beneath the eye.
WGN reports that Massey’s killing, arsenic good arsenic Grayson’s quality to leap astir from instrumentality enforcement bureau to bureau contempt past DUI convictions and getting kicked retired of the army, sparked calls for alteration crossed the United States.
The American Civil Liberties Union, arsenic good arsenic Massey’s household members, are urging Congress to reconsider the George Floyd Justice successful Policing Act.
Named aft a Black antheral killed successful 2020 by a achromatic Minneapolis constabulary serviceman who kneeled connected his cervix for much than 9 minutes, the measure was archetypal introduced by erstwhile Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., present politician of Los Angeles, The Hill writes.
President Joe Biden, successful 2022, signed an enforcement bid to beforehand the constabulary betterment measure aft it was blocked by Senate Republicans. It would make a nationalist registry of constabulary misconduct to forestall officers from evading accountability by switching jurisdictions.
Illinois leaders, including Gov. JB Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton, besides urged Campbell to resign, which helium announced helium would do, saying he'd exit the presumption by Aug. 31.
“It has go wide that the existent governmental clime has made it astir intolerable for maine to proceed efficaciously successful my role,” Campbell wrote successful a statement, according to NewsNation section affiliate WCIA. “Some individuals would alternatively spot our assemblage divided and successful turmoil than let maine to proceed serving arsenic sheriff. The wellness of maine and my family, the Sheriff’s Office, and our assemblage has to beryllium my priority.”
In effect to Campbell’s announcement, civilian rights lawyer Ben Crump issued a connection calling his resignation a “turning constituent successful the ongoing pursuit of justness for Sonya Massey.”
Crump says Massey’s household is consenting to enactment with the outgoing sheriff to “help heal the assemblage and execute afloat justness for Sonya.”
At the aforesaid time, “the Massey household besides hopes to enactment with Sangamon County’s adjacent sheriff to analyse however this calamity happened and to guarantee that a calamity similar this ne'er happens again successful this community.”
Grayson was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated artillery with a firearm and authoritative misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
