(The Center Square) – Lawyers for the family of a Springfield, Illinois, woman shot to death by a sheriff’s deputy are calling for changes, including to the Illinois SAFE-T Act.
The July killing of Sonya Massey sparked calls for change around the country. Massey was shot while ducking in her kitchen by a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy who is now charged with murder. She had called 911 to report a prowler.
“Enough is enough and we have been saying that but now we have to stop the buck and if we have to start with Illinois, we will start with Illinois,” said Chicago-based attorney Antonio Romanucci during a news conference Wednesday.
The ACLU is now urging Congress to reconsider the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a call backed by Massey’s family. The bill would lower the criminal intent standard to convict a law enforcement officer for misconduct in a federal prosecution and limit qualified immunity as a defense to liability in a private civil action against a law enforcement officer.
The family is also calling for an expanded national database of police officers.
“The SAFE-T Act has required the database for felony convictions and serious misdemeanors,” said Romanucci. “We want it to be much more comprehensive than that. We want it to include infractions such as DUIs.”
Despite being kicked out of the army for two DUI convictions, former deputy Sean Grayson was able to jump from police agency to agency, holding six jobs in four years.
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell announced he will retire by the end of the month amid outcry over Massey’s killing and scrutiny over the hiring of Grayson.
In response to Campbell’s announcement, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump issued a statement calling his resignation a “turning point in the ongoing pursuit of justice for Sonya Massey.”
