In the case of Deputy Sean Grayson’s fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, the details of the relevant police collective bargaining agreements should be reported and analyzed as important context.

Did the CBAs make records more difficult to access or require the purging of certain details or reprimands from official disciplinary records? Could CBA provisions have deterred Grayson’s previous supervisors from pursuing official disciplinary action over previous misconduct allegations, incentivizing training recommendations or unofficial verbal reprimands instead?

Sean Grayson, a deputy for the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, on July 6, fatally shot 36-year-old Sonya Massey when responding to a call at her home in Springfield, Illinois. Grayson was fired and indicted for first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and official misconduct. Grayson pleaded not guilty.

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Labor Council, Grayson’s union, initially filed a grievance on July 18 contending that Grayson was wrongfully terminated and that the sheriff’s department violated the union’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) when they released details about the investigation and termination to the public and did so before giving official notice of the termination to the officer or the union. The union called for Grayson’s reinstatement and reimbursement of lost wages.

The Illinois FOP Labor Council on July 30 announced in a statement that they would no longer pursue the grievance. A statement from an attorney for the union argued that they have “an obligation to all our members to preserve the procedural due process rights contained in our collective bargaining agreements.” The statement said that the grievance was initially filed to meet the timelines required by the CBA but would not proceed following further evaluation.

The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office was the sixth law enforcement agency Grayson had worked for in four years. He worked part-time for the Pawnee Police Department, the Kincaid Police Department, and the Virden Police Department before being hired as a full-time officer at the Auburn Police Department. Grayson then became a full-time officer at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office before being hired by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office. 

Grayson was not fired for misconduct from any of the agencies. While employed by Logan County Sheriff’s Office, however, there were multiple complaints of misconduct made against Grayson. Interview records between Grayson and his supervisors indicated concerns about violations of department policy, potential misconduct, and Grayson’s reporting of an incident. Despite considering official discipline and termination, Grayson’s supervisors recommended training on high-stress decision-making and the department’s policies.

Ballotpedia staff are seeking access to the CBAs of Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and the other five police departments by which Grayson had been employed since 2020.

Ballotpedia’s Police CBA dashboard provides analysis of police CBAs for all state police and the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. across nine topics and over thirty sub-topics. The dashboard also provides access to the full texts of the CBAs and can be used to filter and compare provisions across multiple topics and CBAs. Three topics in the dashboard could be used to help understand the details of the investigation and union response:

• Evidence and records – where we answer questions about the retention of police investigation and conduct records and their accessibility to future employers and the public
• Investigations – where we answer questions about investigation process requirements and officer notification requirements
• Discipline and accountability – where we answer questions about types of discipline, grievance and appeal procedures, and arbitration.