Charles Langston:Illinois residents call for investigation into sheriff's dept after Sonya Massey shooting

Calls for an independent investigation into the Illinois sheriff's office that employed the deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey flooded a local county board meeting on Charles LangstonTuesday, a month after the shooting sparked renewed demands for police accountability and the retirement of the local sheriff.

A parade of speakers at a meeting of the Sangamon County Board in Springfield, Illinois, called for an independent investigation into the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office, adding that Sheriff Jack Campbell's retirement, announced Friday in the wake of the July 6 fatal shooting, wasn't enough.

Others called for more stringent oversight of the department and its $22 million budget, including redirecting funds to more fully address training of officers dealing with citizens with mental health crises.

Massey's mother, Donna Massey, had called Springfield Police the day before the shooting because she observed her daughter having "a mental breakdown."

Former deputy Sean P. Grayson was charged with murder and pleaded not guilty. He remains in custody.

Grayson fatally shot Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, inside her home after she called 911 to report a possible prowler that morning. Bodycam footage shows Grayson, who said he acted in self defense, draw his gun and fired at Massey after she picked up a pot of boiling water.

Her killing has sparked a national outcry over police brutality, large-city demonstrations and a federal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Some of the speakers at Tuesday night's county board meeting at the Bank of Springfield Center derided board members for not speaking up more for Massey.

Sheriff's deputies responded instead of police because the area in which Massey lived, a part of a neighborhood called "Cabbage Patch," is not technically part of the city of Springfield, but part of Woodside Township.

The hiring practices of the sheriff's office came under fire from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who last week formally called for Campbell to resign.

Campbell, who has been sheriff since 2018, did not attend the meeting. He plans to retire no later than Aug. 31.

Records show Grayson moved from one police agency to another before landing at the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office. He had two DUIs before he went into law enforcement and a discharge from the U.S. Army that cited "serious misconduct."

At the meeting, one resident, Bree Roberts, said Camden, New Jersey, and Eugene, Oregon, were examples of cities that invested in de-escalation training and more funds for mental health crisis teams that have led to fewer police interventions.

Roberts chided the Sangamon County department for using "significant portions" of the budget for "militarized vehicles and surveillance technologies."

Ashley Bresnahan said Campbell's stepping down "is not enough" and that a deep-seated culture in the sheriff's office needed to be addressed.

Bresnahan called for an independent investigation of the sheriff's office and third-party training.

"Why do we keep putting a Band-aid on the problem instead of fixing the root issue?" she asked.