this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2026
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A former Illinois deputy has been sentenced to 20 years for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 for help.

Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October of second-degree murder. Grayson, who is white, received the maximum possible sentence and has been in police custody since being charged in the killing.

Massey’s family members, who were sitting in the court, celebrated his sentence with a loud cheer: “Yes!” The judge admonished them.

Grayson apologized during the sentencing, saying he wished he could bring Massey back and spare her family the pain he caused.

“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” he said. “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”

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[–] Zombiepirate@lemmy.world 215 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Cops will go fucking nuts on someone merely because they don't comply; their pea-brains simply cannot tolerate anyone who dares to question their authority.

Dude shouldn't have even gone into the house, he refused to leave and deescalate, then murdered a woman instead of just walking out of the door of a place he didn't even belong.

[–] Manjushri@piefed.social 102 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

The problem is fear. In general, we don't teach cops how to deal with complex situations. We don't teach them how to deescalate potentially dangerous situations. We don't teach them how to peacefully resolve conflicts. All they are taught now is Killology (AKA Warrior Training).

Grossman’s America is a terrifying place where police are both the primary targets of and defenders against superpredation. “Increasingly the police must face organized opponents armed with assault rifles and bombs,” Grossman says at the outset of the class, citing an “explosion in violent crime” and an “extraordinary rise in violence” in the streets of America.

...

Grossman maintains that America is now scarier than ever—and that cops may well be the ones with the most to fear. “We know that if it were not for all the body armor, bulletproof vests worn by officers, law enforcement fatalities in the United States would easily be double or even triple what they are today,” Grossman asserts. “If this is not war, then you tell me what is.”

Cops out there now are terrified that they are constantly in the sights of one bad guy or another. They are in a state of constant terror that anyone might pull out a gun and murder them. People in that mindset cannot be trusted to be "peace" officers.

[–] Gork@sopuli.xyz 37 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Grossman maintains that America is now scarier than ever—and that cops may well be the ones with the most to fear. “We know that if it were not for all the body armor, bulletproof vests worn by officers, law enforcement fatalities in the United States would easily be double or even triple what they are today,” Grossman asserts. “If this is not war, then you tell me what is.”

This man has a financial interest in keeping officers as scared as possible so their Chief can book training courses with this guy.

I wouldn't take whatever he says as having any basis in reality.

[–] Manjushri@piefed.social 36 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

You and I know that, but the cops he's training eat that shit up and then wet their pants in terror when an acorn falls on their squad car .

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

One of the fucking greatest things I've ever seen.

Dude apparently thinks he has been shot, so of course, what makes sense to do is:

'Combat roll'

(Utterly tactically useless given the angle from where he thought he was being shot from)

'Suppressive fire toward a restrained person in custody in a police cruiser...'

("I need to shoot my partner's car!")

'... narrowly missing his partner cop...'

'... and with flimsy ass shit tier residential townhomes as the back stop beyond the car.'

That guy needs to be sentenced to only be allowed to appear in public in a full on clown suit for 5 years.

Its actually a miracle he didn't kill anyone.

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[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 32 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It didn't seem like at any point the woman was in a state of mind to calmly invite them in. It's like they always make the choice that maximizes their chance of shooting someone.

I saw footage of a different encounter where a bunch of police were hanging out right at her backdoor even though she was clearly distressed and didn't even think about giving her space. Pretty sure they also shot her through a screen door while she was still in her house.

[–] BillyClark@piefed.social 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The woman reported a prowler and they had already checked the outside of the house. I wonder if they actually needed to go inside the house in the first place.

I wouldn't voluntarily allow cops into my house unless the situation required them to enter my house.

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[–] friendlychemist 125 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Thank fuck. It feels like everytime I read a story like this, the officer in question is just "reprimanded", "placed under administrative leave" or "Not charged under due to immunity" or some shit.

I hope fuckers like these get what's coming to them.

[–] AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social 30 points 2 weeks ago

I feel like that's 99% of cases and it's really disheartening. Good to see them actually get what should have happened to all the others a long time ago.

[–] credo@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It’s going to take time to overcome the “before body cam” era, but this ending brings some hope. And proof they are needed.

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[–] 58008@lemmy.world 82 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Cops have a stressful, often life-threatening job, no doubt. But so do a lot of people. My family has a history of working in psychiatric lock-ups with extremely violent mentally ill and developmentally abnormal patients, most of whom are being held because of murders and rapes they've committed (usually of their own families), and who would murder you if they had the chance/inclination to do so, because they simply don't know any better. The nurses don't carry firearms, they're trained with a few restraining grappling technique and a lot of deescalation tactics. They don't even have tasers. Put an armed cop in that situation and you'd have a ward full of corpses within a few days. Hell, put a regular prison guard in that situation and you'd have a similar outcome. But my family members aren't MMA experts, and have never been [seriously] injured in their job. They've been properly trained, that's all. Cops are trained like they're being shipped off to 'Nam in 1969 to fight an unseen, non-uniformed enemy.

[–] Kaz@lemmy.org 26 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)

Dutch cops often walk around without guns.

Definitely a boys club and training issue in America.

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[–] ieGod@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 weeks ago

"Often life threatening" is not likely to be true. Sometimes, yes. Often? No chance.

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[–] pmtriste@lemmy.world 56 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Weak headline. Should read:

Cop gets 20 years for murdering woman who called 911 for help.

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[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 38 points 2 weeks ago

No, sir, I think the problem was the part where you shouldn’t have acted, but did.

[–] tomi000@lemmy.world 34 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Imagine youre in an emergency, call the hotline that specifically exists to HELP people in emergencies as quickly as possible, 24/7, and they fucking kill you.

[–] jaschen306@sh.itjust.works 32 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Ok, probably an unpopular opinion, but at the VERY least he felt remorse. Like he didn't double down.

[–] SLVRDRGN@lemmy.world 26 points 2 weeks ago

It shouldn't be a lot to ask for, but unfortunately these days, it seems so. I agree.

[–] Pfeffy@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

He expressed remorse before being sentenced. Who knows what he felt?

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[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (8 children)

These people are all liars, manipulators, rapists, abusers, and murderers. Part of the point of the trial is to find out if it was on purpose or not. And time and time again, magas always express sadness ONLY when punished, and then after, double down on it.

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[–] ramsgrl909@lemmy.world 28 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Gosh this is just depressing to read, no wonder people hate cops https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Sonya_Massey

[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Its not even this, it's so much simpler. Mistakes happen, but so many of their "mistakes" are 100% avoidable and no one is ever accountable for their shitty actions. Thats the main reason I hate cops. They're arrogant assholes that just like to abuse citizens, and even when faced with irrefutable evidence of wrongdoing, "they did nothing wrong" by their dept.

Fast food workers are held under higher moral standards than the fucking cops. ACAB.

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[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 weeks ago

They arrogantly call themselves highly trained, highly paid professionals but when faced with reality they often panick and just start shooting.

[–] finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world 28 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

He should get life with no parole. It's not like she can come back after 20 years.

[–] Soulg@ani.social 30 points 2 weeks ago

20 years is a long fucking time. It's enough. His life is still over

[–] untorquer@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago

Couldn't agree more. To serve and protect would have been to take the scalding, not their life. If you're an officer the standard of conduct and consequence must be higher than for the citizen.

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[–] kandoh@reddthat.com 22 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I remember watching the video after it happened. Damn it takes a long time for this shit to go through the courts.

Yeah courts are slow, better to have a fair trial though. I remember this video too, I’m sure all she was doing was boiling some water in a pan before he shot her.

[–] Suavevillain@lemmy.world 19 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

RIP Sonya Massey. 20 years isn't really enough. But when it comes to police the bar is so low for them to get held accountable it is better than nothing.

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[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Not only a law enforcement failure, but the US healthcare system proves once again it sucks complete shit. Sonya was suffering from a mental disorder and let me guess, her shitty health insurance, if she had any, did not allow her to be in an institute.

[–] unphazed@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago

What institutes? Reagan did away with them so now they just go to prisons. If you're lucky you get 1 to 2 weeks in a psych ward of a hospital, then therapy appointments (which you somehow have to arrange transport). If you're really lucky, you can get a group home. If you are really wealthy, you can get a service to help you in your own home. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[–] the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 15 points 2 weeks ago (12 children)

It's really weird that they capitalize "black" in these stories. I get that it's relevant to mention because these things happen to black people a lot more often, but that doesn't make it a proper noun. They didn't capitalize "white". It seems like pandering and it's kind of gross and racist in its own way.

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[–] meco03211@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

What's worse is that type of behavior is explicitly trained into these goons. This means there were people above Grayson that are probably looking at this as an assault on their way of life. They are not looking into the training they provide to see what could be done different.

[–] 6stringringer@lemmy.zip 13 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I’m sure his new home will be a bastion of good will and humanity.

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[–] JustTheWind@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I was JUST thinking about this. What a good time to hop on lemmy. Happy ending.

[–] Nalivai@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Well, I wouldn't say it's happy to be honest, a life has lost anyway. Not the worst one though, for sure

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[–] archonet@lemy.lol 12 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)

how much you want to bet he gets pardoned by the pedo cheeto before serving the lions share of that sentence?

[–] KingGordon@lemmy.world 24 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Pedo cheeto cannot pardon state convictions. Thats up to the governor if we are following the law. But who knows.

[–] archonet@lemy.lol 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I don't know if you've noticed, but "donald trump cannot [xyz] because [abc]" is not a phrase that has meaning anymore in this country, as far as I'm concerned. It's worth less than "liberty and justice for all", and those words are cheap here, nowadays.

Literally how many times does this have to play out before people recognize the pattern? I have lost fucking count.

>talking heads on TV: "donald trump cannot do the thing because it would not be allowed"

>donald trump: does the thing anyways

>everyone: surprised pikachu.jpg

Not to mention, trying to think like Donald Trump, I can think of several actual tangible "advantages" trying to do exactly this would confer: 1. He could recruit the freshly pardoned racist murderer into his personal goon squad of racist murderers, ICE. 2. It would cause needless pain and suffering to the family of Massey, and the cruelty is the point. 3. It would invoke a media shitstorm on the left, while the right would paint it as "owning the libs" and "supporting our brave officers", the usual horseshit. And finally, it would be further unlawfully expanding the power of the executive branch, something he has been doing literally all year.

If I'm wrong, I'd love to hear how.

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[–] nocturne@slrpnk.net 12 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)
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[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 2 weeks ago

20 years doesn't feel like it should be the maximum sentence.

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