Illinois sheriff whose deputy shot Sonya Massey says it will take rest of his career to regain trust

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Sonya Massey in her home after she called 911 for help said Thursday that it will take the rest of his professional life to rebuild trust in the agency.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said he was “horrified” by body camera video showing former sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson shoot Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, in her home on July 6. Grayson, who is white, fired a round that hit Massey just below the eye.

“We will spend the rest of my career, certainly, trying to mend these fences and build bridges to the community to establish trust again,” Campbell said in his downtown Springfield office, just blocks from the historic home of Abraham Lincoln. “When they call us for help, they expect us to help. Sean Grayson did not help Sonya Massey. And he alone is responsible for his actions.”

Grayson, 30, is being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty.

Massey’s family hired prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, whose representation drummed up national attention and protests calling for Campbell’s resignation. Massey's father, James Wilburn, said Grayson should never have been given a badge. He was ejected from the Army a decade ago for the first of two convictions for drunk driving within a year and his employment history — six law enforcement jobs in four years — has raised questions.

At a listening session with the community this week, an emotional Campbell offered a public apology, but reiterated that he will not step down.

“I will not abandon the sheriff’s office at this most critical moment,” Campbell said. “That would solve nothing.”

Grayson and another deputy responded to Massey's home in the early morning to investigate a suspected prowler.

Inside the home, there was lighthearted conversation as Grayson directed that a pan of water be removed from a flame on the stove, according to body camera video. Massey, who struggled with mental health issues, calmly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” prompting Grayson to pull his 9 mm pistol, threaten to shoot her in the face and order her to drop the pan before firing three times.

Outside experts as well as Campbell's internal investigation note that Grayson had several nonlethal options if he felt threatened by Massey or the pot of hot water. Campbell said Grayson had been trained in crisis intervention as well as mental health crisis response and had no use-of-force complaints against him.

“We do not understand why he snapped. He acted outside the scope of his authority as a police officer, outside our policies and procedures and outside the law,” Campbell said. “It is something that we live with and try to figure out every day. We’ll probably never know why he did that.”

Campbell, 60, serving his second term as sheriff, is a third-generation Sangamon County officer. His great-uncle, Hugh Campbell, was sheriff from 1959 to 1963 and again from 1971 to 1975. His father, Jim, rose to sergeant. Jack Campbell retired in 2016 after two decades as a deputy. He was defeated in a 2014 campaign for sheriff but won in 2018.

Sangamon County hired Grayson in May 2023. Campbell interviews all candidates, although he said he can't recall his sit-down with Grayson. Campbell was aware of the DUIs and said they don't automatically disqualify someone from a law enforcement job.

Campbell said he knew of no complaints about Grayson from his previous jobs, including a disciplinary brush in the Logan County Sheriff's Office in which he disobeyed an order to halt a high-speed chase. Grayson was certified in each job by state law enforcement authorities and Campbell sent him through the 16-week training academy for raw recruits, even though his previous training would have been sufficient.

Massey's killing has once again spotlighted cases of Black people killed in their homes by police. The Sangamon County Sheriff's Department has 195 employees, including 72 sworn officers. The office said 10.25% of them are members of minority groups but did not provide a breakdown. Among the county's population of 193,500, census figures show 14% are Black, 3% Latino and 2.4% Asian.

Asked if his department's makeup reflects the community, Campbell said, “What I feel is that we are absolutely trying to get those numbers up.” A recruitment team of deputies who are minorities is active and department representatives regularly engage community groups, seeking applicants.

Since Massey's killing, family, friends and supporters and activists nationally say Black women are even more wary of calling the police for help. Her mother, Donna Massey, said in a 911 call the day before Sonya Massey's death that her daughter was having a mental health crisis. But the elder Massey said she didn't want responding officers to hurt her. “I'm scared of the police,” she said.

“My message is that we’re still the same sheriff’s office. The person that did this is in jail. He’s going to face justice in the criminal justice system,” Campbell said. “And my job now is to hire people and train them to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

This image taken from an Associated Press video shows Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell speaking during an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Springfield, Ill.. Campbell said he was horrified by the body camera video that showed former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson shooting Sonya Massey in her in Springfield, Ill., home. (AP Photo/Melissa Winder)

CORRECTS TO PLEADED NOT GUILTY Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the family of Sonya Massey, stands next to a diagram from the slain woman's autopsy on Friday, June 26, 2024, in Springfield, Ill., and gestures to show the downward angle in which Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson shot Massey in the face early on July 6. Massey had called 911 with suspicions of a prowler near her Springfield home. Grayson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)

James Wilburn, father of Sonya Massey, speaks to reporters in Springfield, Ill. on Monday, July 22, 2024. A former Sangamon County sheriff's deputy has been charged with murder after shooting Massey inside her home while responding to a 911 call on July 6. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)

Tears stream down the face of Donna Massey as she listens to Attorney Ben Crump speak during a press conference over the shooting death of her daughter Sonya, who was killed by Illinois sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson, at New Mount Pilgrim Church in the Garfield Park neighborhood in Chicago, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

In this image taken from body camera video released by Illinois State Police on Monday, July 22, 2024, former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, left, points his gun at Sonya Massey, who called 911 for help, before shooting and killing her inside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP)

FILE - Sonya Massey's home, the scene of her fatal shooting, stands Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Springfield, Ill. Prosecutors have charged a sheriff's deputy with Massey's murder. Sean Grayson is accused of shooting the Black woman in the face on July 6, 2024, while responding to her report of an intruder at her home. (AP Photo/John O'Connor, File)

In this image taken from body camera video released by Illinois State Police, Sonya Massey, left, talks with former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson outside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. Footage released Monday, July 22, by a prosecutor reveals a chaotic scene in which Massey, who called 911 for help, is shot in the face in her home by Grayson. (Illinois State Police via AP)

Illinois sheriff whose deputy shot Sonya Massey says it will take rest of his career to regain trust

Illinois sheriff whose deputy shot Sonya Massey says it will take rest of his career to regain trust

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised successful tests of two types of missiles — one designed to carry a “super-large conventional warhead” and the other likely for a nuclear warhead, as he ordered officials to bolster up his country’s military capabilities to repel United States-led threats.

The tests appear to be the same as the multiple missile launches that neighboring countries said North Korea performed Wednesday, extending its run of weapons displays as confrontations with the U.S. and South Korea escalate.

The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim oversaw the launch of the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile tipped with a dummy “4.5-ton super-large conventional warhead.” It said the test-firing was meant to verify an ability to accurately hit a 320 kilometer (200 mile) -range target, suggesting it’s a weapon aimed at striking sites in South Korea.

KCNA said Kim also guided the launch of an improved “strategic” cruise missile, a word implying the weapon was developed to carry a nuclear warhead.

After the tests, Kim stressed the need to continue to “bolster up the nuclear force” and acquire “overwhelming offensive capability in the field of conventional weapons, too," according to KCNA. It cited the Kim as saying that North Korea can thwart its enemies' intentions to invade only when it has strong military power.

KCNA released photos of a missile hitting a ground target. South Korea's military said later Thursday it assessed that both ballistic and cruise missiles fired by North Korea the previous day landed in the North's mountainous northeastern region.

North Korea typically test-launches missiles off its east coast, and it's highly unusual for the country to fire missiles at land targets likely because of concerns about potential damages on the ground if the weapons land in unintended areas.

Jung Chang Wook, head of the Korea Defense Study Forum think tank in Seoul, said North Korea likely aims to show it's confident about the the accuracy of its new ballistic missile with a high-powered warhead meant to attack ground targets. But Jung said North Korea hasn't acquired weapons that can penetrate deep into the earth and destroy underground structures.

The Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile's first known test occurred in early July. North Korea said the July test was successful as well, but South Korea's military disputed the claim saying one of the two missiles fired by North Korea travelled abnormally during the initial stage of its flight before falling at an uninhabited area near Pyongyang, the capital. North Korea hasn't released photos on the July launches.

North Korea has been pushing to introduce a variety of sophisticated weapons systems designed to attack both South Korea and the mainland U.S. to deal with what it calls its rivals’ intensifying security threats. Many foreign experts say North Korea would ultimately want to use its enlarged arsenal as leverage to win greater concessions in future dealings with the U.S.

Worries about North Korea deepened last week as it disclosed photos of a secretive facility built to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs. Since late May, North Korea has also floated thousands of trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea, prompting the South to resume anti-North loudspeaker broadcasts at border areas.

Follow AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missiles launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missiles launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says a launch of an improved strategic cruise missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, oversees a launch of, what it says, the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)