Sonya Massey ducked and apologized to an Illinois sheriff’s deputy seconds before he shot the Black woman three times in her home, with one fatal blow to the head, as seen in body camera video released Monday.

An Illinois grand jury indicted former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, 30, who is white, last week. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

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The video confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled from across a counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water. He then threatened to shoot her, Massey ducked, briefly rose, and Grayson fired his pistol at her.

Authorities said Massey, 36, had called 911 earlier to report a suspected prowler. The video shows the two deputies responded just before 1 a.m. on July 6 at her home in Springfield, 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. They first walked around the house and found a black SUV with broken windows in the driveway.

It took Massey three minutes to open the door after the deputies knocked, and she immediately said, “Don’t hurt me.”

She seemed confused as they spoke at the door, and she repeated that she needed help, referenced God and told them she didn’t know who owned the car.

Inside the house, deputies seemed exasperated as she sat on her couch and went through her purse as they asked for identification to complete a report before leaving. Then Grayson pointed out a pot sitting on a flame on the stove.

“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” he said.

Massey immediately got up and went to the stove, moving the pot near a sink. She and Grayson seemed to share a laugh over her pan of “steaming hot water” before she unexpectedly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

“You better (expletive) not or I swear to God I’ll (expletive) shoot you in your (expletive) face.” He then pulled his 9mm pistol and demanded she drop the pot.

Massey said, “OK, I’m sorry.” In Grayson’s body camera footage, he pointed his weapon at her. She ducked and raised her hands.

Grayson was still in the living room, facing Massey and separated by a counter dividing the living room and kitchen. Prosecutors have said the separation allowed Grayson both “distance and relative cover” from Massey and the pot of hot water.

After Grayson shot her, Grayson discouraged his partner from grabbing a medical kit to save her.

“You can go get it, but that’s a headshot,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do, man.”

He added: “What else do we do? I’m not taking hot (expletive) boiling water to the (expletive) face”

Noting that Massey was still breathing, he relented and said he would get his kit, too. The other deputy said, “We can at least try to stop the bleeding.”

Grayson told responding police, “She had boiling water and came at me, with boiling water. She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.”

During a Monday afternoon news conference, the family’s lawyer, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, called Grayson’s “revisionist” justification “disingenuous.”

“She needed a helping hand. She did not need a bullet to her face,” Crump said of Massey.

Asked why Massey told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Crump said she had undergone treatment for mental health issues. He noted that she invoked God’s name from the beginning of the encounter and asked for her Bible after the deputies stepped inside.

During Massey’s funeral on Friday, Crump said the video, which he and the family had already viewed, would “shock the conscience of America.”

Massey’s father, James Wilburn, demanded the county court system be completely open with its investigation and prosecution and transparent with the public.

“The only time I will see my baby again is when I leave this world,” Wilburn said. “And I don’t ever want anybody else in the United States to join this league.”

Grayson, who was fired last week, is being held in the Sangamon County Jail without bond. If convicted, he faces prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, 6 to 30 years for battery and 2 to 5 years for misconduct.

His lawyer, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for Massey’s family “as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss.”

“When we call for help, all of us as Americans – regardless of who we are or where we live – should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,” Biden said. “Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”

Massey’s death is the latest example of Black people killed in recent years by police in their homes.

In May, a Hispanic Florida sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Roger Fortson, when the Air Force senior airman opened the door of his home in Fort Walton Beach armed with a handgun pointed down. The deputy, Eddie Duran, was fired.

In 2019, a white Fort Worth, Texas, officer fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window of her home after responding to a nonemergency call reporting that Jefferson’s front door was open. Aaron Dean, the former officer, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.

In 2018, a white Dallas police officer fatally shot Botham Jean, who was unarmed, after mistaking his apartment for her own. Amber Guyger, the former officer, was convicted of murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Crump has represented families in each case as part of his effort to force accountability for the killings of Black people at the hands of police. Crump also has represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man who died after he was strapped face down on a stretcher in December 2022. Two emergency medical professionals face murder charges in that case.

The Detroit Tigers have been one of the most talked about teams in baseball over the last couple of weeks.

While they have started to play better on the field, the majority of attention is on who they might be shipping out ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline next week.

While those rumors have been swirling aggressively, there is another piece of major news to report about the franchise.

Unfortunately, the Tigers have had to make a move to place their young star outfielder Riley Greene on the injured list heading into the weekend with a strained right hamstring. There has been no expected timetable given to for his potential return to the field.

In a corresponding move, Detroit has decided to recall utilityman Ryan Vilade from Triple-A affiliate Toledo.

So far during the 2024 season, Greene has been a massive bright spot for the Tigers. He has played in 101 games, batting .264/.357/.485 to go along with 17 home runs and 51 RBI. That production will be missed.

Hopefully, this isn’t an injury that will last long-term. Detroit needs their young rising star back on the field. He is quickly turning into the centerpiece of the lineup for the future.

All of that being said, the Tigers will now turn their attention to the moves they’re going to make ahead of the deadline. Names like Jack Flaherty, Mark Canha, and even Tarik Skubal are making their rounds through the rumors.

Only time will tell what they choose to do at the deadline, but for now they’re simply hoping for a quick recovery and return to the diamond from Greene.

Milwaukee Brewing & Distilling Company  – owned by Eagle Park Brewing – has announced that its new taproom in Bay View will have its soft opening on Friday, Aug. 2.

A grand opening event with live music and more will take place on Saturday, Aug. 17.

The taproom is in the former Tonic Tavern, 2335 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., which has been renovated.

The new venue will not have a brewhouse. It will feature a range of beers and spirits made by Milwaukee Brewing & Distilling Company at its Muskego facility.

Milwaukee Brewing will continue the Tonic tradition of hosting live music. There is an indoor stage.

Tonic’s large outdoor area has been remodeled.

“Much of the work on the space was cosmetic besides the new patio,” says co owner Jake Schinker. “We loved Tonic Tavern and it was a careful balancing act to choose what to update and what to keep.

“We wanted it to feel new but still keep it familiar to those in the neighborhood that frequented here.”

Eagle Park’s roots are in Bay View, where it opened in 2017 in the Lincoln Warehouse on 1st and Becher Streets.

“Bay View holds a special place in our hearts,” says Schinker. “When we left our original location here in 2018 we were sad to leave, but being back here and being part of the wave of new businesses opening in the area is amazing!

“It already feels like we never left.”

The new taproom was announced this past spring. Tonic Tavern closed in February.

When Eagle Park Brewing and Distilling bought the brands of the closed Milwaukee Brewing Company in September 2022, Schinker told us that he and his partners planned a taproom focused on the brand.

Milwaukee Brewing Company opened in 1997. It closed its Brewery District taproom in August 2022 and sold the business and facility to Pilot Project Brewing.

Eagle Park has taprooms on Milwaukee’s East Side and in Muskego, where it operates its production facility.