Legislation named for Sonya Massey would tighten how police officers are hired

Posted on August 15, 2024
Lawyer Tony Romanucci (left) and nationally known defense lawyer Ben Crump (right). (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Legislation named for Sonya Massey would tighten how police officers are hired. The man whose fatal shooting of Massey has resulted in first-degree murder charges, Sean Grayson, had six police jobs in four years, and Sangamon County sheriff Jack Campbell has said Grayson’s previous employers concealed potential red flags from him in the hiring process.

Lawyer Tony Romanucci, who works with nationally known defense lawyer Ben Crump, says “Sonya’s Law” would defuse what Romanucci calls a “ticking time bomb.”

Romanucci says the law should include a national database of officers and any negative information about them; as well as a waiting period after an officer accepts a job elsewhere.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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