Fatal shooting of Sonya Massey reignites police reform calls

Catch up quick: Prosecutors say Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, was killed inside her Springfield, Illinois home on July 6.

• Authorities say Massey had called 911 to report a suspected prowler, and Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson, who is white, and another deputy arrived at her home to search the area.
• Video footage released Monday shows Grayson following Massey inside her home and asking her for identification while she sits on a sofa. The unarmed Massey then gets up to remove a pot of hot water from the stove.
• The footage shows Grayson demanding that she drop the water. She apologizes and ducks before Grayson shoots her three times, including once in the head. He then discourages the other deputy from using a medical kit to save her.

Driving the news: Grayson was fired last week and indicted for first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty.

• "It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards," the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
• Grayson, 30, had reportedly worked for six law enforcement agencies in four years.

State of play: Though there have been other police shootings in recent months, none have drawn as much national attention as the Massey shooting.

• On Tuesday, hours after she announced her presidential bid, Vice President Kamala Harris invoked the case and urged Congress to pass the stalled George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a bill she coauthored while in the Senate.
• "Sonya Massey deserved to be safe. After she called the police for help, she was tragically killed in her own home at the hands of a responding officer sworn to protect and serve," she said in a statement.
• "The disturbing footage released (Monday) confirms what we know from the lived experiences of so many — we have much work to do to ensure that our justice system fully lives up to its name."

What they're saying: "Sonya's family deserves justice. I am heartbroken for her children and her entire family as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss," President Biden said Monday.

• "Jill and I mourn with the rest of the country and our prayers are with Sonya's family."

• "In this moment of hope for our country to recognize the leadership and value of Black women, we are yet again reminded that Black people are not safe at the hands of police," Jamila Hodge, the executive director of Equal Justice USA, said in a statement.

Between the lines: The momentum for major bipartisan police reform after the 2020 murder of George Floyd had stalled by late 2021 amid partisan bickering between progressives and moderate Republicans.

• Conservative backlash grew as proposals to stem systemic racism were deemed "woke" or anti-police. By the time the GOP recaptured the House in 2023, federal police reform was all but dead.
• Various states did pass laws on qualified immunity for police and requiring officers to wear body cams, but many fell short of the demands that came out of the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

What we're watching: Police reform barely came up in last month's presidential debate between Biden and former President Trump.

• Harris, a former prosecutor who is Black and Asian American, could bring the conversation back. It's not yet clear how strongly she'll lean into an issue that has proved so polarizing in the general election campaign.
• Trump has blamed rising crime on Democrats pushing for police reform, and falsely accused Democrats like Biden of wanting to "defund the police." However, Trump himself called for defunding the federal police after he was arrested in New York.