https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/09/us/sheriff-jack-campbell-retires-in-wake-of-sonya-massey-shooting/index.htmlLess than a month after one of his deputies was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder in the shooting of Sonya Massey, Jack Campbell, the sheriff of Sangamon County, Illinois, announced he will retire by the end of the month.
Campbell made the announcement in a statement released Friday afternoon. His retirement is effective August 31.
“Some in our community want me to pay the price for that person’s actions, even threatening that I pay that price with my life, my family’s lives, or the lives of my Deputies,” Campbell said in the statement. “We will only persevere together as a community if we turn down the temperature and resolve to do better.”
Earlier this week, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton called on Campbell to resign over his handling of the fatal shooting, so the community can “begin to rebuild and restore trust between citizens and the sheriff’s department.”
“The community remains in fear that calling the Sheriff’s Office when they feel endangered will lead to another murder of an innocent resident,” Pritzker and Stratton said.
The governor released a statement Friday evening, saying he “hopes a fresh start with new leadership will usher in a new era of reform and rebuild the trust lost between the Sangamon County community and the Sheriff’s Office.”
Massey called 911 on July 6 to report a possible “prowler” at her home near Springfield, according to a court document filed by prosecutors. After two deputies went to the home to investigate, one of them, then-deputy Sean Grayson, shot and killed her following a dispute involving a pot of hot water, authorities said.
