Illinois
Illinois Woman Fatally Shot By Authorities After Calling About Possible Intruder, Attorney Says
An Illinois woman was fatally shot by authorities after calling to report a possible intruder, according to a family attorney.
Sonya Massey, 36, was shot in Springfield in a July 6 incident involving deputies from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police said Wednesday.
In a statement released on the day of the shooting, the sheriff’s office said that deputies responded at 12:50 a.m. after Massey called 911 to report a prowler, but stopped short of saying who was responsible for her death.
“At approximately 1:21 a.m., the Deputies reported that shots had been fired, resulting in a female being struck by gunfire,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that the unnamed deputies were not injured.
On Thursday, attorney Ben Crump issued a statement saying that he will represent Massey’s family as the investigation into her death moves forward.
“It is extremely hard to imagine how a woman who calls the police out of fear of an intruder ends up shot in the head by the police at her own home,” Crump said in his statement.
“We demand that all body camera footage from this incident be released immediately so that Sonya’s family and the public can see what happened in those thirty deadly minutes. No family should have to endure the pain and suffering that Sonya’s loved ones are experiencing right now.”
Illinois State Police said authorities would not yet be providing bodycam video, citing “the integrity of the legal process and the right to a fair trial in the event charges are filed.”
Members of the Springfield community gathered Friday to mourn Massey and to demand transparency in the investigation, including the release of bodycam footage.
OAK PARK, Ill. (WLS) — About 500 furloughed employees of West Suburban Medical Center have received notices that they will not be returning to their jobs, marking the latest development in the uncertain future of the hospital as its owners continue negotiating a settlement over its future.
ABC7 obtained multiple copies of a letter sent to employees stating there would be “a mass layoff at West Suburban Medical Center” beginning Aug. 31 and that “this mass layoff is expected to be permanent.”
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West Suburban Medical Center CEO Manoj Prasad told ABC7 the notices were required under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN Act, which limits furloughs to six months and requires advance notification before a permanent separation.
Prasad said the hospital’s plans to reopen have not changed, but there is still no firm reopening date.
Sylvia Williams, a former head of nursing at West Suburban Medical Center, said staff knew layoffs were a possibility but hoped they would not become necessary.
SEE ALSO | Exit strategy? Settlement negotiations underway over future of Oak Park safety-net hospital
The notices come amid an ongoing court battle between West Suburban Medical Center owners Prasad and landowner Rathnaker Patlola. The two sued each other in the weeks following the hospital’s closure in March.
ABC7’s I-Team was in court Tuesday for a hearing on progress toward a settlement agreement involving the hospital. During the hearing, attorneys representing Resilience Healthcare did not mention layoffs.
Sources close to the settlement discussions told the I-Team the notices are “a big deal” and that Prasad “had not consulted with anyone” about plans to permanently lay off the remaining furloughed employees.
One source also told the I-Team that the judge was surprised by the news and “upset” it was not disclosed.
Patlola issued a statement saying, in part, that he was “surprised and disappointed” and that employees “deserved far better.”
Settlement negotiations over the future of West Suburban hospital remain ongoing.
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