Trump weighs in on immunity for Illinois deputy in Sonya Massey murder

CHICAGO – Former President Donald Trump was questioned about his support for police immunity in connection with the Sonya Massey murder case during the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention in Chicago.

Massey, 36, was an unarmed Black woman who was fatally shot inside her Springfield home on July 6 after calling 911 for a possible intruder.

Former Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson is accused of fatally shooting Massey as she was moving a pot of hot water off of her stove. 

He is now charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct and is currently being held in the Sangamon County Jail, the Associated Press reports. 

Sonya Massey murder: Illinois deputy allegedly shot woman in face after ordering her to move pot of water

Massey’s death has sparked outrage across the state of Illinois and has prompted many calls for justice, including in Chicago. 

On Wednesday, Trump was asked by Semafor politics reporter Kadia Goba about immunity for Grayson.

This follows Trump’s claim that, if elected, police officers could be immune from prosecution.

Here is a breakdown of the conversation: 

• Goba: “So, Sonya Massey, someone from Illinois, an unarmed Black woman, was shot the other day in her home by a deputy sheriff. The deputy has since been charged with murder. You said police would get immunity from prosecution if you win. Why should someone like that officer have immunity in your opinion?”
• Trump: “Immunity? I don’t know the exact case, but I saw something and it didn’t… it didn’t look good to me. Are you talking with the water, right?”
• Goba: “Police unions are not backing this person either.”
• Trump: “Are they going to be charging the officer? I guess they’re charging the officer?”
• Goba: “So why should he receive immunity?”
• Trump: “Well he might not. I mean it depends. It depends on what happens. I’m talking about people that are, much different cases than that. We need people to protect ourselves. By the way, in Chicago, as an example, a few weeks ago, July 4th weekend, we had 117 shootings and 17 deaths. Nobody wants that… We need to have our police officers have their respect and dignity back. In this particular case, I saw something that didn’t look good to me. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all.”
• Goba: “So, can you get a little more specific back to the immunity question? Who would make those changes, those distinctions?”
• Trump: “For the most part, for the most part, people are protected by their unions, by their police unions or by their police departments. But I’m saying if I felt, or if a group of people would feel that somebody was being unfairly prosecuted because the person did a good job… or made a mistake, an innocent mistake. There’s a difference between being a bad person and making an innocent mistake. If somebody made an innocent mistake, I would want to help that person.”
• Goba: “What would those exceptions be?”
• Trump: “You go after somebody and it’s a very close call and it’s very dangerous. And you know… a policeman’s life, and woman, is a very difficult thing because sometimes you have less than a second to make a life and death decision. And sometimes very bad decisions are made. They’re not made from an evil standpoint but they’re made from the standpoint of they made a mistake.”

The conversation then shifts to Trump talking about being prosecuted and saying how he “won the big case” in Florida. 

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On Tuesday night, Chicago residents and activists gathered at the New Mt. Pilgrim MB Church to call for action and justice in the case.

Massey’s father is also calling for the resignation of the Sangamon County Sheriff.