Sonya Massey’s family questioned how the deputy charged in her death was hired by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office after he had been employed by six agencies in a four-year period, admitted to driving under the influence and was the subject of two previous complaints.
“I feel like he never should’ve been hired,” Massey’s cousin, Shadia Massey, said Friday in an interview with NBC News. “How did he even ... reach this point?”
Massey’s uncle, Raymond Massey, said “there were so many red flags.”
Former Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in Massey’s death. He pleaded not guilty last week and was ordered to remain in custody.
The Sangamon County Sheriff on Friday said that the deputy’s application was reviewed and certified by a Merit Commission.
“He was also interviewed by more than one person,” Sheriff Jack Campbell said. “The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) reviewed the information, which included the DUI convictions. ILETSB certified Grayson for hire and advised that he had been certified several times in the past despite the history of the DUIs. Grayson passed a drug test, criminal background check, and psychological evaluation and graduated from a 16-week training academy before serving as a Sangamon County Deputy.”
Grayson worked at six agencies since 2020, including short stints as a part-time officer at three small Illinois police departments and full-time employment at two sheriff’s offices and one police department.
Records provided by four of his previous employers do not include any complaints or disciplinary action against Grayson.
He was disciplined, however, during his tenure at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office after he hit a deer with his squad car during a chase that violated department policy, according to records from that department. (NBC News requested records from all six departments but received them from only five agencies.)
Personnel records from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office also show that two people filed complaints against Grayson. One woman accused him of “inappropriate” behavior during her arrest, while her fiancé, an inmate at the county jail, accused Grayson of “abusing his power” and harassment when Grayson questioned the man in jail.
Grayson denied any wrongdoing in both complaints, which are marked as “unfounded” in his file.
The records state that he left the Logan County Sheriff’s Office in “good standing.”
Before his employment in Logan County, Grayson worked simultaneous part-time jobs at police departments in Kincaid and Pawnee. Kincaid Police Chief DJ Mathon said he was let go by the Village of Kincaid Board in May 2021 when he refused to live within a 10-mile radius of the village.
He was hired by a department in Virden shortly after he left Kincaid and while still working at Pawnee, records show. Grayson worked in Virden for several months and left for unknown reasons. A department official said Grayson “just stopped covering shifts.”
His separation date from the Virden Police Department was December 2021, a few months after he began working at a department in Auburn. On his application for Auburn, Grayson said he left Virden to become a full-time officer.
He left Auburn in May 2022 and worked in Logan County for a little less than a year before joining the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, records show. Grayson was fired from Sangamon County on July 17, nearly two weeks after he fatally shot Massey in her Springfield home while responding to her 911 call about a possible prowler.
Shadia Massey said that stricter background checks should be required for officers.
“I feel the department needs to have different policies and protocols,” Raymond Massey added. “I mean, he would not have been hired. I mean, I think everyone agrees with that.”
Records further show that Grayson was a wheeled vehicle mechanic in the Army and separated under alleged “misconduct, (serious offense).” It’s not clear what led to his discharge.
Grayson also had some run-ins with the law. According to court records, he twice pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, in 2015 and 2016.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, said at a news conference Friday that questions surrounding Grayson’s past and how he was able to get hired will “only get louder.”
“With the two DUIs, with the reprimand from the Army over serious misconduct, with the six different law enforcement agencies in four years ... were there red flags missed? And should he have been hired in the first place by the sheriff’s department?” Crump said.
CORRECTION (July 29, 2024, 4:15 p.m. ET): Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article misstated the status of Deputy Sean Grayson’s application with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office. The state’s Merit Commission does not certify local officers for hire and so did not review his application. The sheriff’s office did not specify which commission did review it.