Expert in police use of force takes stand in former deputy's murder trial for Sonya Massey killing

PEORIA, Ill. (WLS) -- An expert on police use of force testified Friday in the murder trial of former Sangamon County sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson in the shooting death of Sonya Massey.

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The expert, Lewis Deckmurray, examined body camera video frame by frame. It's from the night Grayson shot and killed Sonya Massey last year in her Springfield home.

Deckmurray said Grayson made decisions that were quote, 'tactically unsound."

Grayson maintains he acted in self defense after Massey grabbed a pot of boiling water.

The jury was shown photos of Massey's autopsy during testimony Thursday.

READ MORE | Family speaks out 1 year after Sonya Massey shot, killed by former IL deputy: 'Miss her every day'

The Illinois sheriff's deputy eschewed his training and the principles of policing when he shot the Black woman who had called 911 for help, a prosecutor said Wednesday in Grayson's murder trial.

The killing has prompted continued questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings of Black people in their homes and generated a change in Illinois law requiring fuller transparency on the background of candidates for law enforcement jobs.

Grayson, 31, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted of murder, he faces 45 years to life in prison. Prosecutors dismissed single counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

Grayson and Farley had entered Massey's home to report they had found no suspicious activity when Grayson noticed the pot on the stove and ordered it removed.

The body camera video shows Grayson and Massey joking about how the deputy backed away as she moved the pot before Massey said, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus." Grayson later told sheriff's investigators he thought Massey's statement meant she intended to kill him. He yelled at her to drop the pot. In the subsequent commotion, he fired three shots, striking her just below the eye.

The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.