Newly released body camera footage shows police responding to a 911 call about a Springfield woman having a mental breakdown — 16 hours before a sheriff’s deputy would fatally shoot her. Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson has been charged with murder in the killing of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman. He has been … Read more
The sheriff of Sangamon County retired abruptly Friday, only weeks after one of his deputies fatally shot Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was unarmed. Jack Campbell said in a statement Friday afternoon, “The tragic death of Sonya Massey has been a heartbreaking event for our community.” He did not accept any blame for … Read more
The police shooting death of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman in Springfield, Illinois, renewed a call from elected officials for police reform legislation and ignited ongoing demonstrations demanding police accountability nationwide. Former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, who fatally shot Massey, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder. But to prevent … Read more
Sonya Massey’s mother called 911 to report her daughter having a mental breakdown a day before Massey, 36, was fatally shot inside of her home by an Illinois deputy, according to emergency call audio released this week. “She has been having a mental breakdown, which is something new to me,” Donna Massey, her mother, can … Read more
Senate Democrats are pushing for police reform legislation following the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman killed by a deputy in Springfield, Illinois, earlier this month. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.)) reintroduced the Police Training and Independent Review Act on Tuesday — a bill that would use grants to incentivize states to improve law … Read more
The Tennessee Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would restrict local governments’ power to pass police reform measures — and would undo a police reform ordinance that Memphis’ City Council passed after police there beat Tyre Nichols, a Black man, to death last year. The GOP-led state Senate passed the bill by a vote … Read more
An incident involving a police officer slashing the tires of vehicles at a Free Palestine protest on February 9 is under investigation in Seattle, Washington. The actions of the Seattle Police Department, which targeted a minivan and other vehicles despite compliance from their drivers, are now under review by the Office of Police Accountability after … Read more
In a win for social justice advocates in the workplace, the National Labor Relations Board ruled Wednesday that big-box retailer Home Depot broke the law by requiring workers to remove “Black Lives Matter” insignia from their uniforms and punishing one for refusing to do so. The board’s majority wrote in their decision that employees sporting … Read more
Deion Byrd would have turned 26 years old on Jan. 31. His father, Marcus Byrd, told HuffPost that Deion usually spent his birthdays with his family, watching television and eating some of his mother’s cooking at their home in Memphis, Tennessee. “He liked joking and things like that,” Marcus said. “He wanted to rap and … Read more
A lawsuit filed this week by Julian, a civil rights organization based in Mississippi, alleges that the city of Lexington, a predominantly Black rural town, and its police department have harassed and abused Black residents for years. The Department of Justice launched a “pattern-or-practice investigation” into Lexington in November, examining the city and its police … Read more
