Years before a deputy killed Sonya Massey, sheriff's office failed to police misconduct within its ranks

After midnight on July 6, Sonya Massey called 911 to report a prowler. When sheriff's deputies responded, she answered the door in her nightgown, thanking and welcoming them into her home in Springfield, Illinois. But two minutes later, Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson took aim at Massey's face and fired a fatal gunshot, killing her in her kitchen. The morning prior, her mother Donna had warned police that her daughter was in the middle of a mental health crisis.

"Please don't send no combative policemen that are prejudiced," Donna Massey pleaded to a 911 operator. "I'm scared of the police."

Grayson was fired less than two weeks later and charged with Sonya Massey's murder. He pleaded not guilty. It's the only criminal case in recent history against a Sangamon County Sheriff's Office deputy for actions on duty, according to a review of court records dating back to 2007, and local officials characterized Massey's fatal shooting as an aberration.