Capitol Brief: Grayson’s behavior in Logan County led superior to ask, ‘How are you still employed with us?'
Records show deputy who shot Sonya Massey disobeyed orders during high-speed chase
Beth Hundsdorfer
By BETH HUNDSDORFER
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
Before former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson was accused of shooting Sonya Massey after she called police to investigate a prowler, he had a rocky, one-year tenure with the Logan County Sheriff’s Department.
Personnel records show that Grayson’s time there was fraught, though he was not fired by the department. Grayson’s file from Logan County shows he continued a high-speed pursuit of a traffic offender even after his supervisor ordered him to terminate it, a woman filed a complaint claiming Grayson tried to watch as she was strip searched, and her fiancé, who was in Logan County jail, claimed Grayson questioned him in front of other inmates as retaliation for his girlfriend’s complaint.
Logan County Chief Deputy Nathan Miller wrote in a November 2022 report that Grayson needed “extensive” training after failing to listen to his superiors. He wrote Grayson needed field training, along with “additional traffic stop training, report writing training, high-stress decision making process classes, and needs to read, discuss and understand issued Logan County Sheriff’s Department policies.”
“Seven months on. How are you still employed by us?” Miller asked Grayson during a recorded meeting to discuss Grayson’s actions.
“I don’t know,” Grayson responded.
Read the full story and access a three-part video and audio interview at capitiolnewsillinois.com.