Deputy Accused of Killing Sonya Massey Was Discharged From Army for Serious Misconduct
Sean Grayson was previously discharged from the Army for serious misconduct — and still hired at six police departments in Central Illinois.
theintercept.com
Deputy Accused of Killing Sonya Massey Was Discharged From Army for Serious Misconduct
He was fired by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office shortly after charges were filed. Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell wrote in a statement posted online that Grayson’s actions do not reflect the values or training of his office.
“Sonya Massey lost her life due to an unjustifiable and reckless decision by former Deputy Sean Grayson,” Campbell wrote. “Grayson had other options available that he should have used. He will now face judgment by the criminal justice system and will never again work in law enforcement.”
In response to a request from Illinois Times, Campbell said in a statement, “The sheriff’s office had a copy of deputy Grayson’s Certificate of Release or Discharge which states that Grayson was given a general honorable discharge from the military.”
However, Ghiotto, the U of I law professor, said the form to which Campbell referred listed the “character” of Grayson’s service as “under honorable conditions (general),” which can be confusing for a lay person. But the nature of Grayson’s separation from the military was an involuntary discharge, Ghiotto said.
In Campbell’s statement, he also said his office “understood that the serious misconduct referenced in these documents was a DUI. We were aware of the DUI at the time of hire.”
The sheriff’s “understanding” appeared to be based on an undated reference letter that Grayson submitted with his application in which Ray Benekin, Grayson’s commanding officer in the Army, wrote, “Aside from Mr. Grayson’s DUI, there were no other issues that he had during his tenure in the Army.”
Other reporting has also shown that Grayson received two DUI convictions in Macoupin County in 2015 and 2016, both of which the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed it was aware of. Ghiotto said it’s extremely unlikely that a misdemeanor DUI conviction would account for the serious misconduct finding by the Army.
One of the DUIs took place while Grayson was still on active duty, and the other citation occurred after his discharge.
When Grayson was held in Macoupin County Jail, records show he refused to submit a breath sample. After threatening to pee his pants or pee in a trashcan in his holding cell, Grayson told the officer who arrested him that he was “too small to be making him mad,” according to records from Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office. The records also show that his Kansas license had been suspended, but did not say the reason.
An online petition calling for Campbell’s resignation has garnered over 2,500 signatures, and Massey’s father has said he should step down.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, said it is “appalling” that Grayson would have been hired despite significant misconduct while in the Army.
“It makes you wonder what else was missed or overlooked in his hiring process with the sheriff’s department,” Crump said. “When you look at the video coupled with the fact that he’s had six different law enforcement agencies in the last four years, it raises all sorts of red flags.”
Records show that Grayson, 30, has worked for six police departments across Central Illinois since 2020.
“I watched the video today actually,” said Mike Lawrence, a member of the Village of Kincaid’s Board of Trustees. “It was disgusting [and] it was shocking because it was so wrong.”
Lawrence confirmed he was unaware of Grayson’s discharge from the Army for serious misconduct. The news of Grayson’s killing of Massey wasn’t a surprise, he said, because of the impression he made while he was at the Kincaid Police Department.
“I thought he was a loose cannon,” Lawrence said. “He was just arrogant and cocky.”
Days after leaving Kincaid, Grayson began working as a part-time officer at the Virden Police Department, where he remained for seven months and where records show he received no official complaints or discipline. The department said it had no records related to any background investigation at the time of his hiring, making it unclear if one was conducted.
David Bounds, dispatch supervisor for the Virden department, said in a letter responding to a records request: “We did not receive a resignation from Mr. Grayson. He just stopped covering shifts. We were advised that Mr. Grayson left our department to accept a full-time position with the Auburn Police Department. We have no disciplinary actions against Mr. Grayson.”
Grayson took his first full-time police job in July 2021, when he was hired by the Auburn Police Department. He would remain with Auburn until May 2022. Reached by phone, the department declined to comment on his employment.
But in response to a public records request, the Auburn department turned over documents indicating Grayson resigned effective May 1, 2022, to accept a full-time position with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office.
Among documents supplied by Auburn was the same federal DD Form 214 that listed Grayson’s discharge from the Army for serious misconduct. When asked whether that finding by the military raised any concerns among Auburn officials when Grayson was hired in July 2021, city attorney Andrew Jarmer, who didn’t represent the city at the time, said, “I have no idea.”
In Grayson’s application for employment with the Auburn department, he said he was an Army veteran. When asked the “type of discharge” from the military, he wrote one word: honorable.
After Auburn, Grayson was hired by Logan County, where he remained for a year before starting as a deputy in Sangamon County in May 2023. While in Logan County, he pursued a vehicle at speeds of 110 mph, against the direct orders of his superiors and eventually hit a deer, according to records obtained by WAND-TV. His supervisors recommended “high-stress decision making” training for him.
The Logan County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to requests for comment from Invisible Institute, Illinois Public Media, and the Investigative Reporting Workshop, and the organizations’ records request is pending.
Ghiotto said that the Army records should have been a “red flag” for police departments considering hiring Grayson.
“I’m very concerned about any law enforcement office hiring somebody who is discharged for serious offense misconduct with a general discharge,” he said. “I wouldn’t hire a research assistant if they have that on their record, let alone a police officer.”
