Sean Grayson, Officer Charged in Sonya Massey Shooting, Had Clean Record: ‘He Acted Like a Bully’

Sean P. Grayson, the now-fired Illinois sheriff’s deputy, charged with Sonya Massey, 36, was fatally shot At home, she had a disciplinary record that included accusations of bullying behavior and abuse of power, according to documents obtained by CBS News.

“He was acting like a bully,” Girard, Illinois, Police Chief Wayman Meredith said by telephone, recalling an alleged incident last year in which he said an enraged Grayson pressured him into calling child protective services on a woman outside Grayson’s mother’s home. “He wanted me to do things that weren’t kosher.”

Newly released audio recordings obtained by CBS News also show that senior officers were concerned about Grayson’s behavior.

In a recording released by the Logan County, Illinois, sheriff’s office, where Grayson worked from May 2022 to April 2023, a senior officer is heard berating Grayson for what the senior officer called a lack of integrity, lying in his reports and what he called “official misconduct.”

“The sheriff and I will not tolerate lies or deception,” the officer tells him in the audio recording of a November 2022 meeting obtained by CBS News. At one point, the officer in charge warns Grayson that “officers (like you) have been indicted and they’re going to jail.”

The audio recording and Meredith’s description of Grayson’s conduct paint a picture of a man quick to anger and, according to the documents, willing to abuse his power as an officer.

The Massey Family continues to seek answers following the body camera footage broadcast showing Grayson, who was then working for another department, shot her in the head as she crouched in her kitchen. Grayson was arrested and charged with first degree murderaggravated assault and battery with a firearm and professional misconduct. He pleaded not guilty.

The March 2023 encounter with Meredith, during which Grayson was described as “completely crazy,” was included in a multi-page disciplinary file obtained by CBS News from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office. The Girard police chief was concerned enough about the incident to report it to the Logan County sheriff, noting that he believed Grayson had recently been diagnosed with cancer and that his brother had committed suicide.

The disciplinary documents also included accusations against Grayson of “abuse of power” and “harassment” of a man and woman stopped during a traffic stop. A complaint was filed against Grayson by the couple, accusing her of intimidating behavior and violating the woman’s privacy. Police reports indicate that she had concealed drugs in her body. In her complaint, she said Grayson and another officer asked her to remove the bag of drugs that was in front of them. She was then taken to a local hospital to have a doctor remove them. She said she felt violated when, she said, Grayson burst into the exam room while the doctor was performing the procedure. Grayson has denied any wrongdoing or even being present at the hospital.

The couple’s allegations against him were ultimately found to be baseless and, according to the documents, he left Logan “in good standing.”

Grayson was hired a few days later by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in the Springfield, Illinois, area. He was working there on July 6 when Sonya Massey, a mother of two, called 911 to report a possible prowler. Grayson and another deputy responded to the call.

The other officer’s body camera shows Grayson entering Massey’s home and asking her to identify herself, then ordering her to turn off the fire on which she was boiling a pot of water. Massey complied, but said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson became angry.

“You better not do it. I swear to God I’m going to shoot you in the mouth,” he said. He then raised his weapon, described as a 9 mm pistol, and yelled at Massey to “get the f***ing out of the pot!”

Massey is seen apologizing and taking cover, at which point Grayson opens fire. Three gunshots can be heard in the video.

After the shooting, Grayson can be heard saying that Massey was going to throw hot water on him, which is not corroborated by the video.

CBS News Previously reported Grayson pleaded guilty twice to driving under the influence of alcohol before becoming a police officer, serving in six different departments in four years and leaving the military after just 19 months.

Grayson’s attorney declined to comment to CBS News.

Sarah Metz contributed to this report.