Deputy charged with 1st degree murder had troubling history

Former deputy, Sean Grayson, was charged with 1st degree murder after shooting Sonya Massey in the face in her home. He claims that deadly force was justified because she was going to throw boiling water at him. After he murdered her, he discouraged his partner from providing first aid. The department also lied to the family and said that Massey died from a self-inflicted injury.

I've seen the video and agree with his former employer and DA; deadly force was not warranted, and he escalated the situation. Officers are also not trained to shoot people in the face; this action was premeditated because he told Massey he was going to shoot her in the face. I would think that 2nd degree murder would have been the more appropriate charge, though. Overcharging comes with the risk of him being found not guilty for the most serious charge.

Prior to joining law enforcement, Grayson was discharged from the Army for serious misconduct. He also got a DUI while in the Army, but it's unknown whether that was the misconduct that got him discharged. My guess is that it's not because substance abuse issues are quite common in the military, so the first course of action is to recommend counseling and less severe punishments. However, one sheriff's department said they "understood" the serious misconduct to be the one DUI.

After getting kicked out of the military, Grayson pleaded guilty to two more DUIs. Yet, he managed to get hired by SIX law enforcement agencies. At one agency, he was rebuked for lying on reports and integrity issues. He was also accused of abusing his power and harassing people during traffic stops. Yet, he still continued to get hired.

The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board knew about Grayson's DUIs before licensing him. He passed the psychological test. If he took the MMPI or a similar test, those are pretty much useless, but I won't go deep into that.

The Fraternal Order of Police is trying to get him reinstated with back pay even though he's sitting in jail.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/07/30/sonya-massey-sean-grayson-shooting/74598525007/

 

We have a national problem with bad cops going to new police departments when fired from old police departments. There are some privacy concerns in general with employers making public information about past employees. This is a special case though and we need some special laws to make a mechanism so that bad cops can't escape their past like this and get rehired elsewhere.

I too have seen that sad video a couple times where he shot that poor lady in the face. I'll guess that he's held responsible at trial. Prison is an especially uncomfortable place for ex-police, I'll guess.

 

My state has an F-5 for peace officers, county correctional officers, and telecommunicators. It's similar to a DD214. It shows how and why you left an agency. My F-5 says that I was honorably discharged. When law enforcement agencies do their background investigations, they're able to get more detailed information on past work history than non-LE employers, especially if they're speaking with other LE agencies.

 

Occam's Razor: Perhaps the law enforcement agencies who kept hiring him were fine with that stuff in his background.

 

I read about another past incident by former deputy, Sean Grayson. There was a woman he saw driving that he thought looked suspicious. When he tried to stop her she took of. When he called in the high speed chase, they told him to terminate the chase. He continued with the chase anyway. The fellow didn't seem to be a good team player nor very good at following orders.