Recently, it has been made to the public a 911 call from Sonya Massey’s mother asking the police to not hurt her daughter which unfortunately, is what happened.
An Unfortunate Tragedy
A young 36 year old African American woman called the police to get some help as she was in danger. Little did she know the true danger were the people that were sent to protect her. Sonya Massey called 911 to alert them of an intruder and they dispatched two officers to her house to see what was going on. The two police men briefly checked for anyone outside of Sonya’s property before entering her home. Once the police officers went inside the home, they asked Sonya for her identification. Before giving it to them, she asked if she was able to turn off her stove as she had water boiling before they go there.
The police agreed and let her walk to the kitchen which was several feet away from the
officers. Sonya then said to the officers “i rebuke you in the name of Jesus” which made one of the officers irrationally angry and began pointing a gun at her. Sonya felt in danger at this point and she put the po down and her hands up yelling “I’m sorry” several times. Despite this, the officer, Mr. Grayson, opened fire at the defenseless woman. She was killed on impact. The bodycam shows there was no threat to the officer at any point in the whole interaction. He was soon fired and charged with murder.
Justice for Sonya
Recently however, it has been said that Sonya’s mom had called the police department the day before to not hurt Sonya. Donna Massey, Sonya’s mother, explained to the police department that her daughter was very paranoid and thought everyone was after her but she was not a danger to others or herself. Donna explicitly asked to not send racist officers to her daughter’s home.
Unfortunately, Donna’s concerns were made true. Many people believe that it is no coincidence that so many African Americans are being hurt and killed by police officers and a big change needs to happen in the police force so that cases like Sonya Massey, can’t happen again.
Written by Erika Cano
Sources:
New York Times: In a 911 Call, Sonya Massey’s Mother Asked That Police Not Hurt Her
The Guardian: Sonya Massey’s mother called 911 and asked police not to hurt daughter before shooting death
USA Today: Sonya Massey’s mother called 911 day before shooting: ‘I don’t want you guys to hurt her’
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Inset Image Courtesy of Scary Side of Earth Flickr Page – Creative Commons License