Why was Sonya Massey killed?

Three weeks ago, Sonya Massey was fatally shot in her home by Deputy Sean Grayson after he and his partner responded to a 911 call in which Massey had reported someone prowling around her home late at night. When the officers arrived just before 1 a.m., they found a black SUV with broken windows but no signs of an intruder. They then proceeded to knock on her door, and after about three minutes, she answered and immediately said, “Don’t hurt me.” The officers reassured her they were simply responding to her 911 call before entering the house with her while she looked for her ID.

At this point, a violent outcome to the encounter seemed unlikely, and, as CNN describes, the officers “asked her how she was doing mentally and if she needed help,” to which she replied, “I love y’all,” while continuing to look through her purse.

The since-released body cam footage shows that things took a turn when the officers noticed a pot of boiling water on the stove. Grayson remarked, “We don’t need a fire while we’re here.” At that point, Massey got up to remove the pot from the stove, and one of the officers told her to back away from it.

It’s unclear what about her actions put the officers on edge. Court documents described Massey as “calm, perhaps unwell, not aggressive” when the two officers knocked on her door, and most of their interactions between that initial introduction and when she left to address the pot on the stove point to that being the case.

However, Massey responded to the officer by twice saying, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” after which Grayson pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot her in the face.

After initially ducking behind the counter that separated them and saying, “I’m sorry,” Grayson took three steps toward her and, when she peaked above the counter—it’s unclear if she had picked up the pot again at this point—he shot three times, striking her in the face.

Grayson’s partner then tried to go for his med kit but hesitated when Grayson replied “That’s a headshot,” relenting when his partner pointed out that Massey was still breathing. By the time paramedics arrived, she was pronounced dead.

The chance for real change

It’s been more than three weeks since Sonya Massey was killed, but details continue to emerge about the circumstances around the shooting and, more specifically, the officer who shot her, Sean Grayson.

Taken together, those details—such as two DUIs that cost him his position in the military and working for six precincts in four years—form a rather damning indictment of the police hiring process and of Grayson himself. But, as many have been quick to point out, the problems go beyond the Sangamon County Sheriff’s office, where Grayson was employed at the time of the shooting.

As CNN’s Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst, John Miller, points out, “There’s a gap in police training for how to deal with people in crisis, deescalate and use non-lethal tools when situations start to spiral.” And, as in the case of Sonya Massey, that gap often revolves around people struggling with mental health conditions.

For many years, advocates for changes in policing have seen this gap as an area with the greatest potential to make a real difference in some of the most difficult and potentially dangerous aspects of police interactions.

Issues involving mental illness, homelessness, and social services are all jobs that currently fall to the police in many cities but could perhaps be handled better by nonprofits or other groups focused on that single task. Advocates for these policy changes also frequently argue that refining the police’s responsibilities could help them better focus on the issues they are best equipped to handle without adding the undue pressure of tasks that fall outside of their training and skills.

But as these debates continue, whether sparked by the killing of Sonya Massey or whoever is next to make national headlines for the same tragic reason, it’s important to keep the issues and their causes in perspective to be sure we’re trying to solve for the most foundational problems.

How the actions of a few can define the whole

Much of the discussion around Sonya Massey’s death has quickly shifted to the issue of race, as this is yet another example of a black victim killed by a white police officer. Yet, as of this writing, there is little to suggest that the violence was racially motivated. That doesn’t make her death any less tragic or Grayson’s actions any more defensible, but the root cause, in this case, seems to be more about mental health issues and an officer who was fundamentally unfit for the authority that comes with being a cop than with racial prejudice.

Still, it should not be surprising that people turn to race for at least part of the explanation.

It’s not that all—or even most—police are racist, but enough are to make it a real problem in this country. And the simple truth is that the actions of some, if seen as representative of the larger group, can often have an outsized influence on how we see the collective whole. That’s why a relatively small number of bad cops—regardless of why they are bad cops—can make people hesitant to trust law enforcement officers everywhere and why race is often where people run first for explanations in tragedies like this one.

And that same basic principle applies to every group, whether it’s built around religion, politics, or any other common interest.

As Christians, it is vital for us to understand that our words and actions—both good and bad—will reflect not only on ourselves but on the body of Christ as a whole. In this digital world, how we discuss topics ranging from the killing of Sonya Massey to politics and beyond will often play a crucial role in building that reflection.

So, take some time today to pray for Sonya’s family and for all those who are hurting or afraid as a result of what happened that night. Then, ask God to show you any ways in which your thoughts, words, or actions might convey a picture of Christ that is far different from who he actually is.

The nineteenth-century evangelist Gypsy Smith once quipped, “There are five Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, but most people never read the first four.”

How well will your gospel reflect Jesus today?