Stephen Maturen/Getty Images/Illinois State Police via AP
Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd‘s daughter, Gianna, has shared her reaction to the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey.
Washington spoke with TMZ in an interview published on Thursday, July 25. Gianna’s mother explained that things could have “been handled in a different way.”
“They took this lady’s life. They shot this lady in the head,” she said. “Now, granted, if she had any mental issues — anything like that, things could’ve been handled in a different way… You have tasers, but you pull out your gun? To kill this lady?”
As the conversation continued, Washington shared a message for Masey and her family.
“My heart goes out to them. My heart breaks for them,” she explained. “I know there’s no way of ever, like, getting over it because you don’t…”
Washington explained that this is why she is “standing behind our Vice President” to “make it to President.”
“So we can get the George Floyd Act — the bill passed,” she said. “Because I feel like they [police officers] just need more training.”
The mother went on to say that if officers are “killing people or taking people’s lives” then you “don’t need to be a police officer.”
“That’s not the job for you,” Washington concluded.
As The Shade Room previously reported, Sonya Massey was a 36-year-old woman who called officers to her home around 12:50 a.m. on July 6. The woman reportedly believed there was an intruder in or near her home.
Upon their arrival, the two officers reportedly noted she was “calm, perhaps unwell, not aggressive.” After entering her home, they noticed she had water boiling and instructed her to remove it from the stove.
At that point, as Massey complied with their order, the interaction escalated. One officer, Deputy Sean Grayson, ultimately drew his weapon on Massey and threatened to shoot her in the head. Furthermore, Grayson then fired three shots at the woman.
Massey was reportedly pronounced dead at a hospital at 1:41 a.m.
Since then, Deputy Grayson has been terminated from the police force and indicted on five counts. Additionally, those charges include three counts of first-degree murder, per The Shade Room.
Furthermore, CNN has reported that Grayson has pled not guilty to those charges as he awaits trial.
Meanwhile, multiple celebrities such as Tia Mowry and Solange Knowles have reacted to the fatal shooting of Massey. Additionally, her son, Malachi Hill, has also broken his silence on her tragic death.
