By Bond Robertson 
She called the police herself when she feared someone had broken into her Springfield, Illinois, home.
On July 6, the 34-year-old man was killed by a police officer in his home.
Two policemen appeared outside her house and Massey himself let them in.
Police have now released more than 30 minutes of video of the incident. In this case, the video is an excerpt from a Reuters video.
An old photo of Macy, who was shot and killed by police earlier in July.
Photo: AFP
The video shows a normal conversation between Massey and the two police officers, until they start discussing Massey's driver's license.
The police then saw a kettle with boiling water and asked her to move the kettle away from the scene.
The policemen back away and Massie asks where they are going. They reply that they are moving away from the cauldron.
Then Massey replies, “Oh, I will rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
So I resisted the police.
“You better not do that, I swear I'll shoot you,” the policeman warns.
They raised their weapons at her, and Macy knelt with her hands in the air.
Police were at the house in Massey for a while before they shot her.
Photo: AFP
Massey apologizes twice and is then shot three times in the face. She dies instantly.
– It's a shot to the head. She's dead, one of the policemen says.
He got schizophrenia
Her daughter confirmed that Massey had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, a condition in which a person can suffer from dangerous delusions.
Macy had two teenagers, a boy and a girl.
On Monday, Ben Crump, the Massey family's attorney, met with the press and wrote: CNN.
He then said that Massey had psychological problems, but that she had not been aggressive toward police.
“Say Her Name” Donna Massey mourns the loss of her daughter during a protest in Springfield.
Photo: Thomas J. Turney/The State Journal-Register/Reuters
“She needs a helping hand, not a bullet in the face,” Crump said.
Massey's father also said he was not told that a police officer had killed his daughter.
– I have the impression that an intruder broke into my child's house and killed him. They never said it was a police officer until my brother read it on the internet.
On Friday of last week, the family gathered for Massie's funeral.
Accused of murder
The Illinois State Police launched an investigation into the incident. They found that there was no justifiable reason to use force. The person who killed Massey lost his job with the Illinois Police Department.
The policeman is charged with murder and has been remanded in custody pending trial. He himself denies criminal responsibility, and the writing Watchman.
Sonia Massey's home in Springfield, Illinois where she was killed.
Photo: John O'Connor/AFP
No police officer has been charged with murder since the killing of George Floyd in 2020, according to The Guardian.
After the police officer was sentenced for Floyd's murder, many expressed hope that this would bring about change in the United States.
Strong reactions
Massey joins a long list of black people killed by police in the United States.
Breanna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson are two black women killed by police in 2022.
On July 12, several people gathered outside the Sangamon County Courthouse in Springfield to protest Massey’s killing and asked police to release the video footage. Police have now done so.
Donna Massey broke down in tears in the courtroom as the officer was charged.
Photo: Thomas J. Torney/State Journal-Register/Reuters
“Until we get justice for Sonya Massey, we are distancing ourselves from the discriminatory penal system in the name of Jesus,” family advocate Ben Crump said Monday.
Massey's murder sparked widespread reactions in the United States.
Between Anna President Joe Biden was shaken by the incident.
“When we ask for help, all of us Americans, no matter who we are or where we live, should be able to do so without fear for our lives,” Biden said.
-Sonia's death reminds us that black Americans live in fear for their safety that many of us do not face.
Published
23.07.2024 13:12