The death of Sonya Massey reveals numerous systemic errors

Sonya Massey's last words were “I'm sorry,” but she had nothing to apologize for. She had followed the orders of Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson and tended to a pot of boiling water on her stove. Massey was noticeably smaller than the officers and told them when they arrived in response to her 911 call, “Please don't hurt me.” Grayson was aware of Massey's mental state: the officers had asked if she was “mentally OK,” and she had told them she had taken her medication. However, when Massey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Grayson pointed his gun at her. She cowered in fear; he shot her at point blank range. Grayson's actions showed a lack of compassion for Massey and a lack of respect for her humanity.

Massey’s murder is a reflection of the systematic failure of the police. Before his career as a police officer, Grayson was convicted twice of driving under the influence and once of having a weapon in his vehicle, which led to his discharge from the military. These incidents, along with his disturbing pattern of short stints with multiple law enforcement agencies, should have prompted a more thorough investigation and prevented the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office from hiring him.

Many advocates and community members have called for law enforcement accountability databases at the state and national levels to identify officers with a history of misconduct and prevent those officers from moving from one law enforcement agency to another. Illinois has such a database, and it recently implemented a National Decertification Index (NDI). However, the criteria for including officers in these databases are far too narrow to identify all officers who require closer scrutiny.

Significantly, Grayson was not listed in the Illinois database and at the time he shot Massey, his NDI registration had not yet been revoked. The impact of these databases is also limited because local law enforcement agencies have complete authority over hiring, management, and accountability decisions and are free to use these databases—or not.

Editorial: The Sonya Massey tragedy shows that it is better for municipalities to have no police officers than to hire the wrong ones

Aside from Grayson's checkered past, the criminal justice system has failed Massey for another reason. Approximately 1 in 5 People with mental illnesses are involved in fatal police shootingsand not all of the officers involved have a history of misconduct, according to a Washington Post analysis.

Both Massey and her mother had called 911 the day before their deaths. Across the country, emergency dispatch centers are developing protocols to better identify whether mental health issues are present on a call and to determine when a behavioral response without police is appropriate. These checks include bringing mental health professionals into the dispatch center to more effectively prioritize calls or directing calls to the new three-digit number 988 for mental health support or to confidential local or specialty hotlines such as Call BlackLine.

None of these enhanced screenings appear to have been in place when Massey and her mother called 911. Instead, her mother was tragically prescient in her 911 call the day before Massey's death, fearing “combative” police officers who might harm her daughter.

The mental health system also failed Massey. In general, black people often receive inadequate mental health care, resulting in more severe and prolonged symptoms and worse outcomes, such as a higher likelihood of involuntary treatment. Massey apparently sought inpatient treatment. in the weeks leading up to her death but was released without appropriate follow-up. During the same time period, Massey also reportedly spoke with members of a local mobile crisis team, a team with expertise in mental health and crisis de-escalation that can respond to mental health crises in place of police. Mobile crisis teams can play an important role in stabilizing a person after the immediate crisis has subsided, but should also contact the person in the days and even weeks that follow to connect them with housing and community-based services. After Massey made contact with the mobile crisis team in her area, it is unclear if she was connected with available services or if there simply were no community-based services in Springfield and Sangamon County that could meet Massey's needs.

What is clear is that Massey knew she needed help but didn't get it.

Massey's death was the result of multiple systemic failures – not just the actions of a criminal officer. This unacceptable tragedy is a wake-up call for national and local leaders to ensure that community-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive mental health services are available to all in need.

Black people, who have suffered the most from these systemic failures, and people with mental illness must be at the center of developing effective mental health services that are better able to respond to crisis situations. It is imperative to develop and implement these changes now to avoid future victims of police killings like Sonya Massey.

Puneet Cheema is director of the Justice in Public Safety project at the Legal Defense Fund. Lewis Bossing is a senior attorney at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

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