WASHINGTON — Family members of Sonya Massey, the Springfield woman shot and killed in July by a deputy who responded to her 911 call, met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and survivors from other families on Friday in a push for criminal justice reform.
The group was joined by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who expressed frustration with the slow pace of change. A bill known as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, introduced in 2021, remains stalled in Congress.
“Had we gotten reform, how many families up here like Sonya Massey and others would have been spared their loved one becoming another hash tag?” Crump said.
Deputy thought Sonya Massey’s rebuke ‘in the name of Jesus’ indicated intent to kill him
Fundraiser for Illinois woman shot by deputy eclipses $500,000
Deputy involved in Sonya Massey shooting death worked for 6 agencies in 4 years, records show
Body-cam video in Sonya Massey shooting reveals chaotic scene
Massey was killed in the early morning hours of July 6 after she’d called 911 to report a suspected prowler. In a sudden escalation captured on the law enforcement officers’ body cameras, Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson shot Massey three times, with one fatal blow to the head, as she worked with a boiling pot of water.
Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nevada), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, told family members of Massey, Breonna Taylor and Tyre Nichols that he and other elected officials are still fighting to pass the bill.
“The Congressional Black Caucus affirms our commitment, and reaffirms our commitment to the families, that we are continuing to do all that we can to advance meaningful bipartisan public safety legislation to create safer communities and to hold police officers accountable who violate the public trust,” he said.
Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by authorities during a botched 2020 raid in Louisville, Kentucky, said she was “tired of begging people to do the right thing. … They murdered Breonna and I am dying!”
RowVaughn Wells, the mother of Tyre Nichols, who died in 2023 after a beating by Memphis police officers, had strong words in urging passage of the bill.
“We have so many kids that are dying by the hands of the police. … I want to say to Congress: all these kids and all our kids that are being murdered, their blood is on your hands,” she said as a trial against three officers charged in her son’s death continued.
Illinois senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth are among a group of lawmakers who reintroduced the bill last month.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.