Illinois sheriff whose deputy killed Sonya Massey announces retirement

An Illinois sheriff who hired the deputy charged in the death of Sonya Massey announced on Friday that he would retire, five weeks after the deputy fatally shot the 36-year-old Black woman in her home.

The Sangamon county sheriff, Jack Campbell, who won the office in 2018, said politics stood in the way of his effectiveness as sheriff and suggested he and his family had received death threats. Campbell, a 30-year veteran of the department, had previously said he did “not intend to step down”.

“We must honor the life of Sonya Massey by ensuring that no one else falls victim to such tragic and senseless action. That has been my sincere mission since that fateful day,” Campbell said in a statement. “But it has become clear that the current political climate has made it nearly impossible for me to continue effectively in my role.”

A Republican, the 60-year-old Campbell said he would vacate his office no later than 31 August.

Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, demanded this week that Campbell step aside, saying he had not provided answers to questions about how Sean Grayson became a deputy in the central Illinois county that’s home to the state capital, Springfield. Grayson, 30, was fired after being indicted on murder and other charges in Massey’s 6 July killing.

Previously, Massey’s father, James Wilburn, called Campbell “an embarrassment” and called for him to quit.

Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He is being held without bond in the Menard county Jail. His defense attorney has declined to comment on the case.

Authorities said that after Massey called 911 to report a suspected prowler, two deputies had gone to her residence in Springfield, about 200 miles south-west of Chicago.

Sheriff’s body camera video released on 22 July confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled across a kitchen counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water. Following Grayson’s direction to remove the pot of water from the stove, she said: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson then pulled his 9mm pistol and yelled at her to drop the pot before firing three times, striking her below the left eye, according to autopsy findings.

When Grayson was fired, Campbell said it was evident the deputy “did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards”.

Campbell attended a listening session with community members on 29 July, asking for the Massey family’s forgiveness and saying: “I offer up no excuses.”

Illinois law enforcement records show that Grayson’s policing career began in 2020, with six jobs in four years.

A decade ago, he was kicked out of the army for the first of two drunken driving convictions in which he had a weapon in his car, authorities said. He was convicted of DUI again less than a year later.

Law enforcement experts say those convictions plus his previous employment record should have raised serious questions when the Sangamon county sheriff’s department hired him in May 2023.

He was disciplined while a deputy for Logan county, north of Springfield, for not following a superior’s command to halt a high-speed chase – an indiscretion Campbell said he was not made aware of when seeking a reference from Logan county. But there is no evidence he was forced out of any of those jobs.

“This man [Grayson] should have never had a badge,” Wilburn said. “And he should have never had a gun. He should have never been given the opportunity to kill my child.”

Wilburn’s call for Campbell’s job was followed by that of several Democrats on the GOP-dominated county board and then Pritzker, who claimed Campbell had not been forthcoming with answers about Grayson’s hiring, what reforms he planned to implement and why he hadn’t met with the Massey family.

“I just want to know and he has been unwilling to answer the questions – if he’d been willing to do these things, then act. He’s had a month,” Pritzker said. “There would be a lot less frustration, a lot more perhaps a sense of safety. But none of that was done by the sheriff.”

Campbell’s office reserved a website exclusively for questions about the incident, where Grayson’s personnel file, audio of 911 calls, deputies’ field reports from 6 July and other documents requested by the public were posted. He said he had contacted Massey family intermediaries asking to sit down with them on four occasions but none had been accepted.

Marc Ayers, a Democratic county board member who sought Campbell’s departure, said in a statement that the board “must implement bold reforms to bring further accountability and transparency” to the sheriff’s office.

“I invite the community to heal and come together as we fight for justice not just for Sonya Massey, but for all Sangamon county residents,” Ayers said.

Campbell worked for the sheriff’s office for more than 24 years as a deputy before retiring in 2016. He ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 2014 but won four years later.

An emailed message was sent seeking comment from Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the Massey family.

If convicted, Grayson faces prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, six to 30 years for battery and two to five years for misconduct.