Sheriff's office knew about Sean Grayson's DUIs. Were there any other red flags?
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A former Illinois sheriff's deputy facing murder charges for shooting a woman in the face in her home was the subject of two driving under the influence charges, one while enlisted in the U.S. Army, records show.
A sheet in Sean P. Grayson's personnel file, obtained by The State Journal-Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, listed "misconduct (serious offense)" as his reason for separation from the Army on Feb. 27, 2016. An online record of the Aug. 10, 2015, DUI in Girard, Illinois, about 40 minutes southwest of Springfield, listed Grayson's address as Fort Junction, Kansas.
Grayson was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, among other places.
Grayson's former first sergeant, in writing a recommendation letter for him for the Auburn Police Department, noted that "aside from Mr. Grayson's DUI, there were no other issues that he had during his tenure in the U.S. Army."
Grayson faces five counts in connection with the July 6 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, 36, a Black woman, who was shot in the face in her home in an unincorporated area of Woodside Township after making a 911 call.
The chaotic and sometimes gruesome video, released to the public on Monday, has caused international outrage. President Joe Biden weighed in on the release of the footage earlier this week, saying: "Sonya’s family deserves justice."
In a news conference earlier this week, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the Justice Department opened an investigation
Grayson pleaded guilty in 2 DUI cases
Grayson, 30, who lived in Riverton, pleaded not guilty on Thursday and remains in custody. He was fired from the department by Sheriff Jack Campbell last Wednesday after being indicted by a Sangamon County grand jury.
Jeff Wilhite, a spokesman for Sangamon County, said the sheriff's office knew about both DUIs. The second DUI, also in Girard, occurred on July 26, 2016. Grayson pleaded guilty in both cases.
Campbell, in a statement emailed Wednesday afternoon, said the sheriff's office "understood that the serious misconduct referenced (in Grayson's Army personnel file) was a DUI."
Asked on the employment application for the Auburn Police Department if he had ever been "convicted of, charged with or (was) currently awaiting trial for any crime greater than that of a minor traffic offense to include driving while intoxicated," he answered, "No, I have only been arrested and charged for DUI."
According to his personnel file and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, Grayson's first employment as a police officer, working part-time, was in Pawnee in August 2020.
Grayson was simultaneously working at the Kincaid Police Department, also part-time. But in his file, he said he left after three-and-a-half months because his hours were cut and he didn't want to move closer to the Christian County community, a demand of his employment.
Grayson caught on with the Virden Police Department in May 2021 and lasted through the end of the year. He left Pawnee in July 2021 to go to Auburn full-time.
The personnel file didn't include any reprimands.
Massey's father critical of Grayson hiring
Grayson went to the Logan County Sheriff's Office in May 2022 before being hired by Sangamon County a year later. According to Wilhite, Grayson had "no use of force complaints or citizen complaints" while employed by Sangamon County, nor at previous law enforcement stops.
The State Journal-Register is seeking additional employment records.
James Wilburn, Massey's father, has been critical of the sheriff's department's hiring of Grayson, saying they should have known about his past "if they did any kind of investigation."
Wilburn also has called on Campbell, who has been sheriff since 2018, to resign.
Contact Steven Spearie at [email protected] or on X @StevenSpearie