When I heard about the murder of Sonya Massey, my heart sank…Sangamon County is two hours from Mayberry where I currently prosecute.
Fair warning, this video isn’t for the faint of heart.
Sonya Massey shouldn’t be dead today.
I’ll use Sonya’s name repeatedly in this post. I will refer to the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy charged with her murder simply as “SD”.
I applaud the Illinois State Police & Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office for working together to swiftly & appropriately charge SD with First Degree Murder.
I thought State’s Attorney’s decisions on deadly force cases like this took over two years as I grew accustomed to when I worked in Will County. Still waiting on that decision Jimmy G…
I hope that gives the community & Sonya’s loved ones some sense of peace. Sonya was a mother, friend, daughter. A human being with mental health issues that deserved to be treated with respect and dignity.
Sonya Massey was needlessly shot & killed by a police officer on July 6, 2024.
There are thousands of articles out there on Sonya’s murder. I don’t need an article or a court of law to tell me what I know from seeing that body cam—Sonya was murdered. I’m hopeful SD will be held fully accountable through the court system.
Is that the just end result?
Cash for one human life while another human is behind bars doesn’t seem retributive, rehabilitative or restorative to me. It’s reactive and what America has been conditioned to accept as just.
All correct….. how do we do better versus point the finger, Joey B?
Feeling comfortable is doing a lot of the same on repeat; discomfort is change. Embrace GRAYce.
I’d like to see a future where these families have their loved ones at home instead of mourning their loss, literally with Sonya & figuratively with SD.
Imagine losing the person closest to you…. what dollar amount would you put on that person’s life? That’s a gross question none of us should be expected to answer, but that’s our current reality.
It’s time we start the process of healing and build a better foundation for the future instead of continuing the harm….
If you’ve read the blog you’d know that this “progressive” prosecutor has a soft spot for felons.
Ready for this “shocker”…… I have a soft spot for cops too. Warm Fuzzies for EVERYONE at Embrace GRAYce!
Although some of my posts may not seem like it….
One of my favorite humans of all time retired in 2007 after 33 years of policing. A true community caretaker. If you think I have a big heart, this man’s heart encompassed the third largest community in Illinois… and spreads love everywhere he goes through conversation.
The man who instilled in me to try to Do the Right Thing and Sometimes the Right Thing isn’t Always the Popular Thing….
Dave taught me the art of story gathering and telling…. Although as a kid, I thought he talked too much… pot meet kettle.
I appreciate his empathy & lessons on life more now than he will ever know.
He’s a big reason I am who I am…. whether you like my unique Jackie ideologies or not 😘
My daddy.
I don’t back the blue. I support kind, good humans. My dad showed me what good police leadership looks like. He’s imperfectly flawed and was committed to the oath he took as a peace officer. I can’t say the same for them all.
Sonya Massey’s murder isn’t about a cold-hearted cop or poor training… it’s about a lack of trauma resources and unaccountability from the top down in policing.
Empathy is not an Endorsement
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder aka PTSD, in laymen’s terms is the brains normal reaction to an abnormal event. In active PTSD, the brain “thinks” with its amygdala versus its frontal cortex.
Like Pixar’s Inside Out.
Frontal cortex is the brain’s “voice of reason”. Amygdala triggers the brains “fight, flight or freeze” response. When the amygdala is triggered from PTSD or otherwise, the brain doesn’t retain information.
Simpler? The brain doesn’t remember the facts of an event when triggered in PTSD.
Also… a person doesn’t know they have PTSD until they’re diagnosed by a doctor, likely after a triggering event… then they seek appropriate treatment. Can’t identify triggers without being diagnosed with PTSD first….
Easy enough, right?
Say you’re a police officer or in the military. Outwardly the public hears about so many mental health resources being available for these first responders. The resources for mental health have improved significantly in the past ten years.
BUTTTTTT… there’s still a culture and silent stigma that surrounds first responders seeking help for PTSD, more-so when work related, from both admin & coworkers. The same people who are supposed to have their back in a deadly situation.
So what you got shot… be a man, it’s what you signed up for….. throw back some beers, therapy is for wussies…
That’s a heck of a good support system for a cop on the streets battling his own trauma, scared to tell his admin that he’s coping with demons, at risk of being placed on leave and losing his livelihood….. at risk of being harassed for not “manning” up to the job…. oh well admin doesn’t want to accept accountability for the past and do better in the future so that cop is back on the street…. cross our fingers and pray he doesn’t kill anyone….
RIP Sonya….
Big nope for me.
PTSD is a disability. It’s not curable, although it can be managed with appropriate support and resources. The subconscious never forgets and holds on longer than we think. Trauma is on a scale. Some people can handle more, others cannot….without help….
Drugs?
Wait, that’s kinda negative. Therapy, there we go. Positive coping mechanism.
Therapy is a magical world of rainbows, unicorns, and meditation clouds. All kidding aside, everyone would benefit from talk therapy. Therapy starts the healing process and helps replace negative coping mechanisms with positive ones. Healed isn’t the goal, that’s striving for perfection. Perfection is failure as it’s unattainable.
If we didn’t live in such a judgmental society, simply talking with each other about our fears and insecurities would help quite a bit. Validation that it’s ok to not be ok and it’s ok ask for help.
SD should’ve never been community caretaking with a gun on July 6, 2024. The red flags from the little history I know screams “get that man help”. He was part of the problem….
But why was he allowed to be in that role in the first place? Systemic failure. I’d also bet empathy for a veteran was another big factor. Empathy is not an endorsement, don’t forget that.
It was “easier” trusting police to do what they took an oath to do 50 years ago when we didn’t have body cam footage that challenged our conditioned beliefs that police officers are somehow better than others.
Cops on the street should be held to a higher standard with a gun in their hands. That’s only fair if they are receiving the additional support necessary from admin & readily available resources for the trauma they encounter far more frequently than others.
We all make mistakes. We are human. We all have truths we don’t want aired to the public. We all deserve grace, to an extent.
When perfection is the expectation in policing, we end up where we are today. Innocent people being killed and putting a dollar amount on a victims life.
Sonya’s murderer was a 30 year old army veteran. He had two DUIs in 2015 & 2016. I don’t know his complete history. Given my experience, I’d bet he’s gotten away with so many DUIs for the same reason he was allowed to be on duty the night Sonya was killed. Empathy.
EMPATHY IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT. Third time a charm?
The research says a male brain isn’t fully formed until 30… that’s without any trauma that may delay development. How did SD pass a psych exam let alone numerous psych exams? One theory I have is some of the psychologists are part of the systemic failure. Paid to play ball.
The government would rather pay millions in lawsuits to a victim’s family and jail the cop for trauma rather than proactively compensate work related ptsd through disability pay to prevent future murders.
Sangamon County is not and will not be an isolated incident if we only condemn the actions of SD without addressing the broader SYSTEMIC wide failure going on.
I could name double digit police officers that are currently out on the roads in Old County that could very likely end up in SD’s shoes. Through no fault of their own, but it won’t matter because the public doesn’t want to see past blaming the trigger man or woman. It’s uncomfortable to challenge our conditioned beliefs. Its ok.
It is very rare someone signs up to put their life on the line for the military or for a police department with the intent to be the bad egg.
Generally speaking, when we see incidents like Sonya’s murder, it’s the officers PTSD “triggering event”. Their first realization they have a debilitating disability.
PTSD puts the brain into one of three modes: Fight, Flight or Freeze. SD was triggered when he murdered Sonya. His subconscious response was Fight. That was likely ingrained in him in the military. Systemic failure again.
What’s the end result in a situation where an officer knows they have ptsd, they are receiving treatment for it, respond to a traumatic situation and they are unknowingly triggered then freeze?
The officer is in harms way & is unable to respond appropriately for the person who called for help.
A cop and victim needlessly dead… with a third person behind bars.
A friend made the comment that ending qualified immunity would help this problem.
Maybe a small part of it. I believe technology, or body cams, have forced police administrations to hold Officers accountable for actions like SDs. Doesn’t hold the toxic administrations accountable for their inaction….
In the past SD would’ve likely gotten away with Sonya’s murder without the body cam. Harsh reality.
It’s a systemic failure and the cycle won’t end until we stop it… we’re betting with human lives as it stands.
Just like… (click their names read their stories)
Rob.
Mady.
RIP Sonya Massey
All examples of how unjust the (in)justice system…
EMPATHY IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT.
Embrace GRAYce 
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