Sonya Massey’s family isn’t resting until they receive justice. Their attorney revealed that the family is looking for legislation to be passed to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future. 

On July 6th, Massey’s life was unfortunately taken from her by police officer, Sean Grayson, who shot the unarmed victim in the face after she called 911 for help with a possible prowler. 

Before this incident, Grayson had been discharged from the Army for serious misconduct and was charged with two DUI misdemeanor offenses in Illinois’ Macoupin County back in 2015 and 2016. Grayson pleaded guilty and had to pay more than $1,320 in fines for his 2015 offense, according to court records. As for his 2016 offense, he paid more than $2,400 in fines. 

Massey’s attorney, Antonio Romanucci, expressed that misconduct like Grayson’s should be documented in a national registry and accessed as part of a background check before police departments hire officers to ensure there are no problems with the applicant. 

“We want a national database … to include infractions such as DUIs,” he began. 

We want it to include infractions (such) as driving 101 miles per hour during a police chase. We want it to include if you use excessive force or unnecessary profane language on a citizen. We want to stop any police officer who does not deserve to wear the uniform or the badge.” 

He shared that if a law enforcement officer made a mistake in the past, they shouldn’t be automatically barred from getting hired by another department, but those incidents should be regarded as a “red flag.” 

RELATED: Sonya Massey's Father Thanks God for Body Cam Footage Released by Authorities in Fatal Shooting

“We want those to be put in the standard protocol so that everyone is aware of it,” he said. 

“It’s not that it should be an automatic disqualifier. I mean, if the legislators determine it should be – that a DUI should be a disqualifier – then maybe it should. However, these red flags cannot go unchecked. That’s the problem.”

Romanucci would like a mandatory waiting period before a law enforcement officer can be hired – possibly 45 days – to make sure there’s enough time for a thorough background check to help agencies spot possible red flags with applicants. If any infractions are to be found and the department still hires the applicant, the consequences will then fall on the high-ranking official who acknowledged and signed off on the applicant despite being made aware of the red flags. 

"If he makes the hire, then it’s his responsibility,” Romanucci shared. 

“We need to prove that the background checks were done so none of these infractions fall through the cracks.”