Latest / Probation Behavior / 5 | Sonya Massey: A Call for Help

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5 | Sonya Massey: A Call for Help · Probation Behavior

0:23
You're listening to probation behavior.
0:27
OK, feel a little breathless today.
0:30
Yeah, I think it's the air. It's been so dry because we're
0:35
in a drought. Yeah, I've been just informed me
0:38
that we're in a drought in Charlotte.
0:41
I think just all of North Carolina.
0:42
I'm like super OK with it. Can we?
0:46
I'm sorry that might be insensitive.
0:48
I feel like I've been, I've honestly been like feeling it
0:52
physically, like I've been out of breath on my walks.
0:56
Wow. I don't do any form of physical
0:58
exercise, so I always feel out of breath.
1:01
It's something I'm working on. So you're.
1:03
Like I could care less if there's rain or not.
1:05
No seriously, although I will say if anyone knows how to, how
1:10
do I put this? Force yourself to work out and
1:13
actually enjoy it somehow. Everyone, my boyfriend is always
1:17
like, you just have to find like what you love.
1:20
You just have to find what you love.
1:22
I have tried every single sport in the book.
1:24
I do like sports. I like playing them.
1:27
I like winning. Oh, really?
1:30
Yeah, idea. But like running, going to the
1:34
gym, yoga, like Oh my God, no thank you.
1:39
I will say as somebody who does work out like a good bit, I, I
1:49
think for me it's not as much loving the act of working out,
1:55
it's the way I feel afterwards. And it's like the reward of like
2:00
it become when you're more consistent with it.
2:03
You need to do it almost. But I feel nothing after doing
2:07
workouts. I'm my whole life.
2:09
I'm serious. I did competitive sports all
2:11
growing up. I like feel I have gone to the
2:16
gym just with I've had personal trainers.
2:20
I feel nothing. That runner's high, the
2:22
adrenaline, none of that. All I think is wow, I'm
2:25
sweating. I just wasted an hour.
2:29
Yeah, I guess I don't really have much advice.
2:33
That's why I'm going to put it out to our podcasting world.
2:36
Does anybody have any advice besides like just get your ass
2:40
up? Have you tried, have you tried
2:44
like do you listen to like a podcast, a really great podcast
2:49
when you're working out? I listen to podcast 24/7.
2:53
OK, maybe an idea. You're not allowed to listen to
2:59
them unless you're at the gym. I like the reward system way
3:05
that you're you're thinking about it because ADHD needs like
3:08
a reward system and we're terrible with routines.
3:11
Yeah, very hard to get into a routine.
3:13
And and stick to it. Which is why is this a fitness
3:17
podcast? I don't know, it's not.
3:20
Anywho, I think routines for people with ADHD, at least
3:27
speaking from personal experience.
3:29
Like I need to stay so consistent with one, especially
3:33
working out, because if I fall out of it even for a day or two
3:39
days, it's like, Oh my gosh, I don't know how I'm going to get
3:43
back into it. Like I have to stay pretty much
3:46
consistent every day or I fall out and it's like pulling teeth
3:50
to get back into it. That's how I feel.
3:53
I'm either 0 or 100 and I've been zero for quite a while, so
3:58
I'll take that under consideration.
4:03
Just Mull it over. I'll Mull it over.
4:06
I just feel like, you know, I'm about to hit 30 in two years.
4:12
It's probably time to take my health seriously.
4:14
OK, Anyways, moving on before we jump into the story, I did want
4:21
to take a second to just emphasize that at the center of
4:26
all of this is going to be our victims of this entire podcast.
4:30
And, you know, I, we've mentioned on previous episodes
4:34
that we both have experiences of people close to us, you know,
4:40
having a relation to murder in some way, shape or form, some
4:45
terrible crimes, you know, suicide, all of that.
4:50
And I want to always make sure, I think it's absolutely a Gray
4:55
area in the world of true crime podcasting, but I always want to
4:59
make sure that we are handling it with the utmost of care and
5:03
sensitivity because the last thing in the world that I would
5:06
want is a loved one to feel as though we aren't taking this
5:13
seriously. I think honestly, something that
5:17
drives me and has driven me listening to so many true crime
5:20
episodes and podcasts is there are so many victims.
5:24
It almost feels like I am running to keep up with trying
5:29
to know them all because it breaks my heart to think that
5:33
people are so unjustly taken from this world and people don't
5:39
know about it. That absolutely wrecks me.
5:41
So I just wanted to put that out there.
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And I also want to say that we're always open to feedback.
5:47
I think me and Abby, we're going to be who we are and our
5:50
personality and we want to show that in the beginning and you
5:53
know, in pockets of this. But at at the center of all of
5:57
this is trying to give a voice to a victim and trying to talk
6:01
about who they were as a person and remember them and honor
6:04
them. So I just think that needs to be
6:07
said. Yeah, that was very well said.
6:10
I couldn't agree more. I think we're trying our best to
6:14
do this in a way where we are focusing on the victims.
6:19
And I think so often how we talk about public perception and what
6:24
gets in the news, it's usually not the victims, not always, but
6:30
I think the focus can be shifted to those who are taking the
6:35
lives of innocent people because of the fascination that we have
6:40
as people with something we don't understand.
6:43
So we're doing our best to try and learn as we go, but feedback
6:49
is definitely welcome on this journey.
6:52
Going into that, I have a pretty heavy case.
6:57
They're always heavy. But this one had video footage
7:02
of the actual crime. And sorry, I'm like getting
7:06
choked up thinking about it because it was really, really
7:09
hard to watch. And the family of this victim is
7:15
speaking out a lot and wants the story to be shared.
7:20
That's that's the sense I got with all of the press and all of
7:22
the news. And I just think she needs to be
7:27
talked about. So this is going to be the story
7:31
of Sonya Massey. The quote I have today is the
7:35
only thing Sonya wanted in her life was to do better for
7:38
herself and her two children. That's the quote that we have
7:42
today. The person that said that quote
7:45
is Raymond Massey, Sonya's uncle.
7:48
This case went viral. Like I said, there's body Cam
7:52
footage and the footage is horrifying.
7:55
This is about a woman who called for help and a family that says
7:59
they were given conflicting stories about how she died and a
8:04
truth that only fully came out because there was a camera
8:08
there. Sonja Lynnae Wilburn Massey was
8:13
born on February 12th, 1988 in San Diego, CA to Donna Massey
8:18
and James Wilburn. What we know about Sonja from
8:22
her obituary is she loved cooking, she loved doing hair,
8:26
nurturing her children, and spending time with her family.
8:30
She was a member of the Second Timothy Baptist Church, and her
8:34
uncle Raymond said that the only thing Sonja wanted was to do
8:36
better for herself and her two children, and that she'd
8:40
recently bought a house and was trying to move forward.
8:42
So I think that detail matters. She's in motion.
8:46
She is 36. She is a working mom trying to
8:50
make the best life for her and her children.
8:53
The days before Sonia's death matter because they show a woman
8:58
in distress and a family that's trying to get her help without
9:02
getting her hurt. And I know that so many families
9:06
go through this, right? You have somebody who is dealing
9:09
with mental illness, dealing with a a mental health episode,
9:13
and you are trying to get them help.
9:17
Maybe you don't live near your child or your mother or your
9:20
father, and you're trying to get the locals to help as like a
9:24
white person I would never think twice about.
9:28
Of course I'm going to call the cops.
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They will go help her. They will go help my loved one
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who is really struggling right now.
9:35
I would never think twice about that, which is just another
9:38
thing that just like stings. So in the days leading up to
9:42
July 6th, there were multiple emergency calls connected to
9:46
Sonia. On July 5th, her mother Donna
9:48
called for help and said her daughter was having what she
9:50
described as a mental breakdown. Donna told dispatch that Sonia
9:54
was not dangerous but when she got upset she thought everyone
9:57
was after her. Paranoid, you know, some people
10:01
said that she was a paranoid schizophrenic, which again, it's
10:04
just AI can't even imagine the the tough headspace that she was
10:09
in and she just needed help. Do we know if she was ever
10:15
actually diagnosed with that or was that just kind of assumed?
10:18
Do you believe she was? I don't have.
10:20
I'm not going to definitively say yes or no.
10:23
I know that she had seen mental health professionals and she had
10:27
checked herself in in the past to a psychiatric hospital.
10:31
So she had done inpatient care, which usually means that they
10:35
have a diagnosis of sorts that requires inpatient care.
10:40
So Donna said something to dispatch that is like unbearable
10:48
to read in hindsight. She pleaded to them, Please
10:52
don't send no combative policemen that are prejudice
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that line. I mean, it tells you everything.
10:59
She was not just afraid of the crisis.
11:02
She needed help. She couldn't do it herself.
11:06
And she was also afraid of who was supposed to go and help her
11:10
daughter. I can't imagine being in that
11:12
position. Later reporting also indicated
11:15
that Sonia had recently checked herself, like I said, into an
11:18
inpatient treatment program and that she'd actually sent her
11:21
children to stay with their separate fathers around that
11:25
time. Like showing that even in the
11:28
middle of being in such a horrible mental space, she was
11:32
still putting her children first.
11:34
She said I'm not in a good head space, but I need them to be
11:38
safe. In the early hours of July 6th,
11:41
2024, Sonia called 911 because she believed there might be a
11:45
prowler, A burglar outside of her home.
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So 2 Sangamon County Sheriff's deputies responded.
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One of them was named Sean Grayson.
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At first, the call doesn't look like something that is going to
11:59
turn catastrophic, right? They just check around outside,
12:02
they don't find anyone. Sonia comes to the door, speaks
12:05
with them, and at one point Grayson asks whether she's doing
12:08
OK mentally, and Sonia says yes. The whole interaction is so
12:12
ordinary, and it's maybe like a little bit uneasy, maybe a
12:17
little awkward, but nothing explosive, nothing that, you
12:20
know, you picture before catastrophe.
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She's not under arrest. She's not attacking them.
12:26
She is just talking to them in her doorway.
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At one point as the exchange seems to be winding down, Sonia
12:34
says, love y'all, thank y'all. That line, like the lines
12:40
leading up to this, it's like they all knew what was going to
12:44
happen and it's so horrible that she she was so appreciative.
12:51
Like this is a normal interaction.
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This would be a cop wouldn't even remember this night like in
12:57
their career. And yet this is turns into a
13:00
woman is murdered. It's it's just wild to me.
13:03
It's wild to watch it. It's wild to hear it and it's
13:07
just terrible. So the deputies follow her
13:11
inside and I think she actually invited them inside or they
13:16
followed her. I'm not 100% sure on that.
13:19
But regardless, she's welcoming them.
13:22
She's again very appreciative that they came and kind of
13:24
helped her out. And less than 5 minutes pass
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between the moment Sonia answers the door and the moment that
13:31
Shawn Grayson shoots her. Less than 5 minutes inside,
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Sonia sits on the couch and looks through her purse for her
13:39
ID. The kitchen and living room are
13:41
separated by a counter. So you kind of have like an
13:43
island that wraps around. I know if you've seen the video
13:46
it's like burned into your brain.
13:47
Literally. So kind of like an open concept.
13:50
And while she's looking for ID, Grayson notices that there's a
13:53
pot of water on the stove. And it's, he says out loud, We
13:57
don't need a firewall. We're here.
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Sonia gets up. She turns off the burner, and
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she picks up the pot. Pretty much just responding to
14:04
him, you know? Pointing pointing it out.
14:06
Pointing it out, she carries it to the sink.
14:09
She turns on the faucet. It's just being in the kitchen.
14:12
It's a pot on the stove. There's, you know, just water in
14:15
the sink. It's a woman in her kitchen,
14:17
like if you just took a snapshot of that.
14:20
I can't get over it. The energy totally shifts.
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Sonya asks what they're doing. Grayson says that they are
14:27
moving away from her hot, steaming water.
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Sonya says I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.
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Now that is not threatening. Rebuke is a sharp, stern
14:41
expression of disapproval or reprimand.
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There is nothing violent about that statement.
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She is not being violent while she says it.
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She almost absent mindedly says it as she's turning around.
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There is nothing about it. And I also, I don't fully
15:01
understand this statement. So I mean, I'm not religious.
15:05
I I've heard rebuke, I've heard that word before.
15:09
But in this context, it doesn't really register.
15:12
If somebody said that to me, I would just kind of brush it off,
15:16
especially somebody that's calm and her demeanor and just
15:19
responding politely. This is what seemingly sets him
15:23
off and Grayson immediately responds.
15:28
You better not. I swear to God, I'll shoot you
15:31
right in your fucking face. A moment in which he should be
15:34
de escalating. I remind you.
15:37
The deputies yell at Sonia to drop the pot.
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I think it's clear that one deputy is leading this.
15:43
And then, of course, you're in a moment of all of a sudden panic
15:46
and you know, you have another deputy that's also there.
15:48
And they feed off each other. And Sonia starts saying, I'm
15:54
sorry. She places the pot down and she
15:56
ducks behind the counter. She ducks like several times.
16:01
And Grayson fires 3 times and we can't see this on the body Cam.
16:09
We hear it, but she is behind the counter.
16:12
So, and unfortunately, this becomes part of his defense
16:15
later. And I feel like can't even
16:17
believe it. He claimed that he was, he
16:20
feared that she was about to, you know, scald him with the
16:23
boiling water. And the prosecution's case, the
16:27
reason why it became a murder trial, was that it's on body Cam
16:32
footage. The threat he claimed to
16:34
perceive did not justify what he did.
16:37
Also, mind you, there's two of them, two of them with weapons
16:43
and a woman with not saying like boiling water cannot be
16:47
dangerous, but come on like and it like you mentioned the de
16:53
escalation of the situation was nowhere to be seen.
16:56
He was. She was literally doing what he
16:57
asked was removing the boiling water from the situation.
17:03
It doesn't make sense to me and I will never understand this as
17:07
well and maybe there's some education that I need on this.
17:11
Why don't cops like aim at an arm or like a leg?
17:15
A non fatal shot that will absolutely disarm the person.
17:20
She'll drop the whatever perceived weapon there is.
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I I don't know why cops don't do that.
17:25
Especially I, I have seen the video as well and like at that
17:30
range, like at that point it's like point blank range pretty
17:34
much. So I, I don't, I don't know.
17:38
I mean, it's, it's hard to understand.
17:40
I don't know what I'm sure that gets.
17:43
Does it get brought up in the defense like?
17:45
No, not that. Not that I know of because I, I
17:48
think that police are trained to do other methods when you're
17:54
going to use your gun, it is to be fatal.
17:58
But I need to look more into that.
18:00
That just like bewildered me. Not that it ever even remotely
18:05
warranted a gun. But what we can confidently say
18:09
is that she apologized. She lowered herself to duck
18:13
because she was afraid of him. She was behind the counter and
18:16
then he shot her three times and then a fatal shot to the head.
18:21
Somehow the footage gets even worse after the shooting.
18:25
Grayson radios it in and turns on his body Cam.
18:28
I think that he had turned it off for a little bit.
18:30
The other deputy says he's going to get his medical kit.
18:34
Grayson responds no, it was a headshot, dude.
18:36
She's done. That line is part of why this
18:39
case, I think, stuck in the public's mind.
18:42
I mean, for many reasons. To hear that if I were her loved
18:46
one, I mean, to hear that as a stranger.
18:49
Anyways, the other deputy is trying to help Sonya, holding
18:53
her head and using kitchen towels while she's still gasping
18:56
for air. Grayson goes outside, moves
18:59
around, gets a medical kit, comes back, and according to
19:02
court records, doesn't do any type of medical aid.
19:05
Later, after the officers arrived, Grayson claims Sonya
19:08
came at him with boiling water and refers to her as this
19:11
fucking bitch is crazy. So the brutality of the case is
19:14
not only in the shots fired, it's in the threat.
19:18
It's in the decision to escalate.
19:19
It's in what he says afterward. Yeah, it's in his language and
19:24
the language he was also using directly to her.
19:26
Yes, and if the shooting wasn't horrific enough, what came next
19:31
made it even worse. Sonia's family says that they
19:33
were not immediately given a clear, truthful account of what
19:37
happened. Her father, James Wilburn, later
19:40
said that the family was initially led to believe that
19:43
Sonia had either been killed by an intruder, like they were
19:47
originally called for, or died from self-inflicted wounds.
19:51
Which wouldn't be far out of the realm of possibility if you
19:53
believe your loved one is having a mental breakdown, right?
19:56
I feel like they capitalized on that.
19:58
Family members later said that some of them learned through
20:00
media reports that this was actually an officer involved
20:03
shooting. One relative said that hospital
20:06
staff overheard police telling nurses it was self-inflicted.
20:10
So now the family's not just grieving, they are trying to
20:13
figure out whether they've been lied to about their daughter's
20:17
murder, daughter, mother, all of that.
20:21
I think grief is already so disorienting.
20:24
And then on top of that contradiction, confusion and
20:28
deception in the possibility that she needs justice and maybe
20:33
nothing's being done. I, I can't imagine it.
20:37
The body Cam footage becomes the turning point in this entire
20:39
story. So according to Sangamon's
20:42
Sangamon County's official case information page, Sonia's family
20:46
met with prosecutors and Illinois State Police and were
20:49
allowed to view the body worn camera footage before it was
20:52
publicly released. Then, after consultation with
20:55
the family, officials announced that the footage would be
20:57
released publicly on July 22nd, 2024.
21:01
The timeline matters because the family did not randomly discover
21:05
the truth on the Internet. In terms of the actual, you
21:08
know, seeing the video, they were shown it in an official
21:11
setting and I'm 99% sure they chose to allow it to be publicly
21:17
viewable. And I just can only imagine how
21:21
devastating being in that room must have been.
21:25
It's truth. It's just all you are seeing,
21:28
cold, hard facts about how horrible this whole situation
21:33
was and how unfair it was. James Wilburn later said that if
21:37
it were not for the body Cam footage, they would have never
21:40
known what happened. I can't imagine that happening
21:42
for, you know, we have technology these days which you
21:45
know, is a blessing and a curse. And in this case, it truly it is
21:52
what held this man accountable because he could have said
21:54
anything. And they're going to take the
21:56
police officer side. You know, she's a black woman
21:59
who has a history of mental illness.
22:04
Anyways, once everybody started seeing the footage, the vague
22:08
language that they were using just was not working anymore.
22:12
They could hear Sonya say. They could hear every word.
22:15
They could hear Sonya say, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.
22:17
They could hear Grayson threaten to shoot her in the face.
22:20
They could hear her apologize. They saw her duck, and they
22:23
could see him fire. And then they hear she's done.
22:27
The video did not create the injustice, right?
22:29
Like it. It exposed it.
22:30
And I think it raises the question of what would have
22:34
happened if we did not get this footage, if it did not exist or
22:39
if they buried it, what would have happened.
22:42
And I think this is, unfortunately, the truth for so
22:44
many people's cases, so many victims, that we don't have the
22:49
video right. And the video is horrifying to
22:51
watch, but it also is holding this man fucking accountable.
22:57
So everyone's asking why the fuck is this guy still wearing a
23:00
badge? And before he killed Sonia
23:04
Massey, Sean Grayson worked at six different law enforcement
23:07
agencies in four years. Oh my.
23:10
Gosh, he had been discharged from the Army and had two DUI
23:14
convictions on his record. Crazy.
23:17
And that changes the entire shape of the story because it
23:19
feels like it's not just one deputy making a terrible
23:23
decision in a kitchen one night. It's becoming like an
23:27
institutional issue. And you know, unfortunately, I
23:31
feel like these cases always end up being a bigger issue.
23:34
First of all, the DU is I don't understand how a single DUI
23:38
doesn't immediately make you You're not allowed to be a
23:41
police force anymore. Yeah, I feel like that is like
23:45
common sense. Common sense and I I truly just
23:50
have no patience at all for DU is and putting anybody at risk
23:56
while under the influence. I just, I don't get it.
23:58
I never will. Especially the people that are
24:01
supposed to arrest you when you were committing ADUI.
24:04
Like that person has had two. Yeah.
24:06
Crazy. So the public outrage was pretty
24:12
immediate. And it was massive.
24:14
It was a viral video. Her name, Sonia Massey, spread
24:18
across the country. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump
24:21
stood with the family. President Joe Biden addressed
24:23
the case. Kamala Harris called the family.
24:27
Protesters gathered. National outlets picked it up.
24:31
And I think rightfully so. This was this was horrible.
24:35
And it was all on camera for us to watch.
24:38
Just how terrible our system has become.
24:42
This case has so many different wounds that I think we all feel
24:48
these days. It has racial injustice, you
24:52
know, the efficacy of the police force, the mental health crisis
24:58
and crisis response. And like, what does safety mean
25:02
if you can't call for help because somebody, you think
25:06
somebody might be trying to break into your house?
25:10
What do we have a police force for?
25:13
So the federal government got involved.
25:15
The US Department of Justice sought records tied to the
25:18
shooting and investigated how local authorities treated Black
25:20
residents and people with behavioral disabilities.
25:24
That's important because it shows this case was never
25:26
treated as just one isolated shooting.
25:28
It raised these broader questions.
25:30
How are Black residents treated when they call for help?
25:33
How are people in distress met by law enforcement?
25:35
What happens when departments keep hiring officers with
25:39
serious red flags? Later, the DOJ secured an
25:42
agreement with Sangamon County and the Sheriff's Office around
25:46
reforms, including crisis response and de escalation.
25:50
Illinois also enacted a law requiring greater disclosure of
25:53
police recruits background records.
25:56
So Sonia's death did force change.
25:59
It just didn't save her, unfortunately.
26:03
On the civil side, Sangamon County approved a $10 million
26:05
settlement with Sonia Massey's family.
26:07
But the family's attorneys were clear that this was only a first
26:10
step. Money is just, it's not their
26:13
mom coming home, you know. On the criminal side, Sean
26:17
Grayson was charged with first degree murder, aggravated
26:20
battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
26:23
The case drew so much attention at the trial was moved from
26:26
Springfield to Peoria. The fact that it was moved out
26:30
of Springfield, IL where it happened, I mean, is a testament
26:34
to how big this became. It was a national case and
26:40
millions of people had seen the horrible situation in which
26:45
Sonya died. In October 2025, the jury
26:48
convicted Sean Grayson, but not on the top count.
26:51
He was found guilty of second degree murder.
26:54
That verdict was really painful for Sonia's family because they
26:56
believe this should have been first degree murder.
26:58
Public reporting showed relatives and supporters were
27:01
upset and saw the outcome as an incomplete measure of justice.
27:05
Then on January 29th, 2026, Grayson was sentenced to 20
27:09
years in prison, the maximum possible sentence for that
27:12
conviction. At sentencing, Sonia's children
27:16
spoke. Her daughter Summer said.
27:17
Since her death, I have not been the same person, Her son Malachi
27:21
said. My soul is ripped.
27:23
And that is the part that stays with me because this is, I mean,
27:29
the the largest sentence in any, you know, murder or crime or
27:35
anything like that is the sentence that it imposes on the
27:38
family, the grief that they are going to suffer for the rest of
27:42
their lives. And just I think anybody seen
27:47
that video knowing that you don't know if you're safe
27:50
calling the police if you're a person of color.
27:52
And we knew that. But again, seeing it on camera
27:56
is another thing. And I think too, for the family
28:00
to kind of be at a crossroads of like, you know, we want people
28:07
to know about this and to have this out there so we can see
28:13
change. But to have, you know, the video
28:16
of their loved one and what that video is, I mean, it is
28:20
horrific. The fact that it's just out
28:23
there forever. And so many people have seen
28:25
their loved one, Sonia, die in the way that she did.
28:30
Like, I can't imagine that conflict, that inner conflict as
28:33
well. Like when that decision was made
28:36
of releasing it to the public. And like you said, like, yes,
28:39
change came from it, but at the expense of her life.
28:43
It's. It's a sacrifice that they never
28:46
should have had to make and never.
28:49
I mean, I think if anyone could choose to have their loved one
28:52
back or the reform that came out of this, like they're going to
28:56
choose their loved one, rightfully so.
28:59
And it just sucks that we are so reactive.
29:05
Like, I just feel like every every case that I've heard that
29:09
pops up when we talk about police brutality, it's so
29:13
reactive. And maybe we're not getting the
29:17
news that they're trying to be proactive.
29:21
I want to see that news, but it's always just this shitty
29:26
thing happened and now we're in the public eye.
29:29
And so we're going to try and make ourselves look better.
29:33
They, the community really rallied together around Sonia
29:37
and her family and this case and what happened to her.
29:41
I think that people have done a good job of centering her in
29:44
this story and not the officer. They have done so much.
29:49
I mean, just all the people, all of her loved ones and all the
29:51
people that have come together that have been touched by this
29:53
story have done so much. I'll put a bunch of resources in
29:56
the show notes in the description so that you can take
30:00
a look. I think just to close out the
30:03
story, Sonia was a mother. She was loved.
30:08
She had a mom and dad that really cared about her.
30:11
She's trying to do better for herself and for her children.
30:14
She had a whole family and a whole life that was that
30:18
preceded this viral video. We get to see a 2D version of
30:22
the last moments of her life again, like we were talking
30:24
about. It's a sacrifice that nobody, no
30:26
family should ever have to make for justice.
30:28
And she should have been safe in her own house, in her own
30:32
kitchen after she allowed the police officers to enter her
30:36
home. She didn't have to do that.
30:38
She allowed them in after thanking them for their service.
30:44
So this is a super heavy one. And again, like I said at the
30:48
beginning, they're all heavy, every single one.
30:52
But seeing it live is, I don't wish it upon any family.
30:59
I don't wish it upon any person. And I think in the age of social
31:04
media, I mean, this is a unique case in which I am so glad that
31:08
we have that footage. As hard as it is to watch, I'm
31:11
so glad that we had that footage because I don't know what would
31:13
have happened to that officer, if anything.
31:16
What would he have done next, you know?
31:19
Yeah, I don't mean even the fact that you mentioned nurses
31:23
overhearing the the police talking about it and saying that
31:28
it was self-inflicted wounds right at the hospital, like
31:32
trying to get their story straight.
31:33
Like I I mean, everything about it is you think of those like
31:38
what ifs, like what if she didn't invite them into her
31:42
home? And again, like she was thanking
31:44
them. And I remember like it was
31:48
almost that moment of like they were going to leave, like they
31:51
did what they came to do. And then unfortunately within 5
31:56
minutes like. Less than 5 minutes.
31:58
Turn that they that it did and yeah, it's it's it's tragic.
32:04
It's very tragic and. I feel like to the the argument
32:09
of when people get defensive when we say that the police
32:14
force is kind of fucked up and the system is fucked up and we
32:18
need to reform it. And I so often hear the other
32:22
side of the the room saying we have, there are great police
32:27
officers, you know, there, there are amazing police officers and
32:31
we should be treating them with respect and all of that.
32:33
And I, I think that there were clear system failures, clear
32:40
failures in which this guy should have never been on the
32:44
force, never been on the force in the 1st place.
32:47
And we failed, we failed her. And that happens way too often.
32:52
And I think we just can't ignore that, you know, we need to, to
32:57
change. So thank you guys for listening
33:03
again. I will put more resources if you
33:05
want to learn more about Sonia's case and how to support and we
33:11
will talk to you guys next week. Bye guys.
33:15
Thanks for listening. That's it for today's episode.
33:19
Thank you for listening. If you're loving the show or
33:22
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33:27
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33:31
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33:33
Thank you.