By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A University of Illinois professor says the police shooting of a woman who called 9-1-1 for help is an outlier.

Ryan Williams teaches criminology and criminal justice in Springfield and says … the story of now-former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson killing Sonya Massey is a rarity of rarities.

“When officers do end up killing a citizen, only about one percent of those killings ever lead to some sort of arrest. Arrest!” said Williams. “And then, of those, only about half lead to a conviction.”

And think of all the officers who go their entire careers without even firing their gun. Grayson was fired, charged, and jailed pending trial within two weeks of the July 6 incident in which he fatally shot Massey, who called police from her Springfield home to report a possible break-in.

Body cam video of Massey’s death – at the hands of a deputy – in her own home – is due out today.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].