Sonya Massey’s Murder Is Continued Proof That We Need Police Reform

On July 6, 2024, a white cop killed Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old black woman and mother of two, in her own home. Massey called 911 to report a potential prowler, but instead of police helping her, an officer murdered her. Her children lost their mother. 

Sadly, Massey’s death likely doesn’t surprise people of color in the slightest.

Constantly seeing our fellow people of color shot simply because of their skin color is exhausting. Thankfully, Deputy Sean Grayson was charged with Massey’s murder two weeks after her death, but even that step isn’t enough.

In the past four years, Grayson worked for six different police agencies. This is a major red flag — an officer who can’t stay employed with the same agency for at least a year could have some questionable practices. Not only is that a bad look for Grayson, but it also shows that he isn’t doing his job correctly.

Massey’s murder is proof that this man shouldn’t be a police deputy.

Grayson’s work history was clearly overlooked, and this isn’t the first time that a cop who murdered an innocent person of color has had a questionable professional background. This cycle is horrific and needs to end, but it’ll only stop when police departments stop hiring under-qualified officers who don’t have diversity training. 

Police departments are obviously not appropriately vetting these new hires, who have to have a weapon on them at all times. Cops need better training on when to shoot and how to de-escalate truly risky situations safely. Shooting should always be the last resort, and police also need to check their racial biases so that they don’t harm innocent people of color.

Additionally, background checks of police need to be more thorough.

The agencies that background check cops should contact their previous employers to make sure that all new police hires are responsible and not unnecessarily violent. They should also contact police hires’ former coworkers to see how they work with others. Employers should also start shadowing programs where they can see how potential new hires handle difficult situations with people of all backgrounds. This will help police departments change for the better and hopefully reduce unnecessary murders of innocent people of color. 

If cops did their jobs properly, thousands of people of color would still be alive, and their families wouldn’t have to grieve for them. People’s lives are at stake, so as a society, we need to keep holding police departments accountable and implement police reform. Society tells us that people of color aren’t worth saving from police violence, but instead of just getting angry, we need to use that anger to protest and create change. Black lives do matter.

Featured Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash.