this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2024
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Joe Biden has called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, moments after shocking police video was released showing an Illinois officer fatally shooting Sonya Massey after she called police fearing a home intruder.

In his first public statement since dropping his bid for re-election, Biden said the shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, by white Sangamon county sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, in her home in Springfield, after a dispute over a pot of boiling water, “reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not”.

Biden, who is recovering from Covid at his home in Delaware, said Massey, “a beloved mother, friend, daughter and young Black woman … should be alive today”.

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[–] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 198 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (13 children)

The thing I found most interesting about the whole interaction is that the first thing the police say to her when they make contact is "we looked around outside and didn't find anyone". Like they're challenging her to contradict them.

That is technically true, but it omits some very relevant information, i.e. that they found a vehicle parked nearby which had very clearly been broken into. That might not have happened that evening, but they don't know that. And they don't mention it when they talk to her. They instead start by saying that the reason she called (she heard a prowler) could not be confirmed. This statement sets up the entire tone of their interaction. There's nobody for them to arrest, so now they're clearly annoyed that she's wasting their time. They start treating her like a suspect instead of a victim. They want her name, her ID. They invite themselves in without cause and start looking through her house. It escalates from there, and ends in murder. The shooting officer then outright lies about the circumstances of the shooting, saying Massey was coming at him with a pot of boiling water and threatening him. She had put the pot down in the sink and was just standing in the kitchen. See, he'd turned his body camera off and didn't realize his partner was still recording.

This was a fucking extra-judicial execution.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 59 points 3 months ago (16 children)

Like they're challenging her to contradict them.

I had a slightly different take on this - if she had said "OK thanks guys, I feel a lot better now. See you later." it probably all wouldn't have ended in murder.

What I can't understand is why they entered the house after that interaction and the video I saw didn't show.

After that it all went downhill aggressively. The tone of her "Jesus retribution" comment was actually very soft. The cop putting his hand on his gun and his incredibly aggressive tone was mental. Pure escalation with someone who obviously has mental health issues. She was never going to get out alive. :( It reminded me of that awful video of the young lad on the hotel floor who was executed. Very upsetting to watch.

[–] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 43 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (9 children)

What I can’t understand is why they entered the house after that interaction and the video I saw didn’t show.

To my knowledge, there was no reason or justification given. Grayson had turned off his body cam, and his partner had walked away to get the license plate of the car in the driveway. Grayson followed her into her home asking for ID. She seemed confused and scattered through the whole encounter. She might have been intoxicated or on medication. She might have had mental health problems. She may have even been using illegal drugs. But none of that is a crime if you're in your own home not bothering anyone. IMO, they were fishing for a reason to treat her as a suspect.

This video has a good breakdown with footage from both officers' body cams: https://youtu.be/7jP3FGj7syI

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[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 26 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

if she had said "OK thanks guys, I feel a lot better now. See you later." it probably all wouldn't have ended in murder.

Why even say this victim blaming bullshit? Yes, I read the rest of your comment, I just don't know why you felt the need to preface it by blaming an innocent dead woman for getting shot by the cop she called for help.

I shouldn't even need to say any of this, but she could have been cursing them off the moment they arrived for all I care. That's literally her constitutional right. And if it were a white woman, and she was cursing them from the moment they arrived, she'd still be alive right now 100%. Perhaps detained or arrested, and/or maybe a few bruises. But alive.

This country is going to need to have a reckoning. We failed Reconstruction, and in retrospect we probably should have let Sherman burn the South to the ground after the war, and now the chickens are coming to roost.

(Yes I know this was in Illinois. The legacy of slavery is everywhere).

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[–] Natanael@slrpnk.net 46 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Turning your body camera off deliberately or knowingly failing to maintain it to keep it running should automatically cause the cop to be treated as a an unreliable witness and as a suspect for any potential crime happening

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago

Turning your body camera off should be a crime that results in prison time.

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[–] Nougat@fedia.io 189 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Okay, so the officer orders her to take a pot of boiling water off the stove, and then shoots her in the face for doing so.

No wonder those charges came so fast.

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee 124 points 3 months ago (10 children)

The crazy thing seemed fairly relaxed until she said she "rebuked him unto Jesus". Seemed like it went from "haha I don't want to be around a person carrying boiling water", and she seemed to respond jokingly with the Jesus thing, which immediately made the cop respond as if she just pointed a gun at him?

Does this guy think this lady is some kind of biblical sorcerer?

[–] 5oap10116@lemmy.world 62 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Can't wait for the defense being:

"She said she was going to 'rebuke me in the name of Jesus' and I felt my soul was in imminent danger from this woman and her boiling cauldron of witchcraft"

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[–] Nougat@fedia.io 58 points 3 months ago

Does this guy think this lady is some kind of biblical sorcerer?

See my other comment about where Springfield, IL, is; it's not out of the question.

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[–] Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world 62 points 3 months ago (1 children)

And the fact that he turned his camera off right before he killed her makes this first degree for sure

[–] TheFriar@lemm.ee 24 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I don’t think he turned it off before he shot her, just that he didn’t have it on until after he shot her.

This is still murder and he’s a fuckin pig that should rot in the prison industrial complex he feeds. Fuck him and his cop buddies. But I didn’t get the info from this article that he turned it off himself. Just didn’t turn it on in the first place, which he’s supposed to do before every interaction.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 29 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

All pigs not running their cameras are demonstrating premeditated intent.

[–] Carrolade@lemmy.world 134 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Just glad they're not messing around with this one, and went ahead with the three charges of first degree murder.

[–] Stovetop@lemmy.world 112 points 3 months ago (28 children)

And wouldn't you know it, it's thanks to bodycam footage that we have irrefutable proof of this clear and unquestionably excessive use of force against an innocent victim.

The bodycam footage that thousands of police departments throughout the US are still pushing back against because they want people to think it impedes their ability to appropriately deliver justice, when it is actually, finally, allowing justice to take place. The necessity of which was caused primarily by police brutality against people of color, just like this situation, where there was no witness account other than the cop's side of the story.

If this happened ten years ago, back before bodycams became more widespread, the cop would have gotten off with a short paid suspension and no other punishment, because all there would be is the cop's one-sided account of how she clearly assaulted him with a deadly weapon and reached for his gun.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 32 points 3 months ago (1 children)

If I were a cop I'd be happy to have a body cam because it would help me cover my ass in case someone accused me of something.

But this attitude is probably why I'm not a cop.

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[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 27 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Conservatives have been backing the cop, as expected, and trying to make her seem like a dangerous criminal

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[–] BetaBlake@lemmy.world 96 points 3 months ago (1 children)

6 departments in 4 years, this cop shouldn't have had a job period. This department is partly liable for this just by employing him

[–] Natanael@slrpnk.net 38 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Make police officers individually responsible for carrying insurance for their job.

If they can't behave then they won't be able to afford the insurance as the insurance company will raise the fees, and then they can't get a job they shouldn't be doing in the first place

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[–] 2ugly2live@lemmy.world 77 points 3 months ago (2 children)

That was worse than I was picturing. She immediately dropped to her knees while saying sorry (twice, panicked) , with her hands up and they shot her. She had released the pot the moment they got aggravated. It's such a shame that this keeps happening and the only response police have is "more money please."

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 40 points 3 months ago

Just tired of reading about this shit while our DOJ twiddles its thumbs and our legislature waves little "Blue Lives Matter" flags in the faces of the survivors.

[–] xenoclast@lemmy.world 31 points 3 months ago

There's a reason ACAB is a thing. They're the most destructive gang in the world.

Start at the top, every chief, superintendent and supervisor should be on trial. They should all serve time and lose their chance to police..

[–] PanArab@lemm.ee 75 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I saw the video, the cop had absolutely no justification for it. I don't care what his religious believes are, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus" is not a valid reason. What's heartbreaking is what her last words were: "I'm sorry".

In a just world the cop would get a minimum of 20 years and possibly even a life sentence or capital punishment.

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[–] Nougat@fedia.io 59 points 3 months ago (7 children)

For those not in the know, Springfield, IL, is the state capital (capitol?). It's waaaay down in the generally rural middle of the state, with a 2022 population of just over 113,000. It is not anything like the Chicago metro area.

[–] fcSolar@lemmy.world 45 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Capital. A Capitol is the building where the legislature presides.

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 48 points 3 months ago

Thanks, I'm too old to be president.

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[–] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 58 points 3 months ago (1 children)

If innocent people are killed by police then it should lead to a federal independent investigation. Don't care if it was an accident (chasing a suspect) or direct.

[–] pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml 46 points 3 months ago (4 children)

And the police department’s policies shouldn’t exonerate them by default. When departments investigate themselves, they just say “our policy encourages the police to kill anyone they see in this situation, so the officer’s actions were in line with our policies.”

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[–] Juigi@lemm.ee 48 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Start with getting rid of qualified immunity and make cop training more like it is in civilized countries.

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[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 35 points 3 months ago (15 children)

I'm not trying to victim blame but please please everyone in america, stop calling the police when you need help.

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[–] Clbull@lemmy.world 32 points 3 months ago (4 children)

"Away from the hot steaming water? Oh, I’ll rebuke you in the name of Jesus." was apparently enough for a white police officer to pull out his gun and shoot an innocent black woman three times.

What the fuck?

This is legitimately worse than what happened to George Floyd. Like... I genuinely feel angry for the relatives of this poor woman after watching that bodycam footage.

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[–] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Does the proposed bill ensure American police get like three years training to become community-oriented and not a power tripping police officers?

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[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 24 points 3 months ago (7 children)

For anyone wondering how this happens, please watch this, yeah, I know, it's 30 minutes... I assure you it's worth it.

NSFW language.

https://youtu.be/Wf4cea5oObY

The important bit:

https://youtu.be/Wf4cea5oObY#t=11m32s

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