On July 6, 2024, Sonya Massey called the police when she heard a prowler outside her house. The county sherifs arrived, checked outside, and entered her home to make a report. The cops were pushy, arrogant, and rude.

Sonya was sitting on her couch looking for her ID when one officer pointed to a pot of boiling water in the kitchen. He told her to turn it off, because "We don't need a fire while we're here.” That's an odd statement, but Sonya complied.

Sonya went to the kitchen, turned off the stove, went to her sink, and it appeared she dumped the water into the sink. The officers were in a completely different room, and Sonya was not a threat.

The officers moved away when Sonya got the pan. She noticed and commented on it. The officers commented on the hot water. Sonya said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus”. This set the officers off, but people who are familiar with the terms’ use says that she either meant “that’s silly” or to indicate that she herself felt threatened by the increasingly agitated officers.

Her tone and movements were not threatening. Both officers drew their firearms. One officer shouted, “drop the pan!”. Sonya apologized and pleaded with the officers not to hurt her. Officer Sean Grayson shouted, “I will soot you in the fucking face!”. Sonya dropped the pan ducked for cover. Her movements were still not aggressive.

Officer Sean Grayson fired at least three shots at her face. The bullet that killed Sonya entered her eye socket and exited the back of her neck, showing she was crouched defensively when shot.

The body camera footage of the killing is only from Grayson's partner, because Grayson didn't turn his camera on until after the shooting. Grayson was dishonorably discharged from the army. He has been moved around between six departments in four years. Despite early reports that Grayson only changed jobs for personal reasons, it is now coming out that he had serious discipline issues at his previous job and was under investigation when he left.

We see this over and over again: violent, inept, cowardly, and racist officers moving between departments. Communities have to fight to keep local departments from hiring cops with a history of excessive violence.

As with the killing of George Floyd, the killing is so egregious that once the public was aware, the officer was fired and charged. But that does not bring back Sonya Massey.

Today - this day that you are reading this - an officer with a violent history is being hired by a new department. That officer will have fear-based training; military-grade weapons; and a bunch of lobbyists, lawyers, and politicians fighting to ensure minimal accountability. And that officer may kill someone because there is no obligation to preserve life or avoid unnecessary violence. Statistically, the killing will be one of the 3-4 police killings that happen every day in the US, and statistically, the officer will not be disciplined, fired, or charged.

Rest in power Sonya Massey. You should be alive.