Illinois village. JB Pritzkar signed new signs on Tuesday Police officers require a more intensive background check before being hiredA law inspired by the shooting of Sonya Massey.
Massey was shot dead in July 2024 by Gracon, a deputy scene of Sangamon County Sheriff, in July 2024 near Springfield.
Gracon has been removed and Accused of murder first in Massey’s murderAnd questions have been raised as to why he was placed in the first place, concerns were given about his conduct in the previous police jobs.
Gracen Massey shot dead As she was checking a vessel of boiling water in her kitchen, “I reprimand you in the name of Jesus, but the prosecutors said that Gracon asked her to move the pot from the stove, and never made a danger that justified the use of deadly force.
Earlier this year, Illinois House and Illinois Senate crossed the Sonya Massey Act with Bipartison Support. The law will require a more comprehensive background check before being hired by police or other law enforcement officers in Illinois.
Pritzker said on Tuesday that he signed the remedy “continued to work to help prevent these tragedies, to secure our communities better, to better equip the law enforcement, and to build a justice system that protects all our citizens.”
The new law requires local, county and state law enforcement agencies, which are statewide to check full background at a potential rent before offering them badges and guns.
This measure also prevents law enforcement agencies from offering a final job until they have reviewed all the pre -employment records of an applicant.
Any person applying for the job of a police officer in Illinois will need to authorize all previous employers, including other law enforcement agencies, to provide full employment records-“to include duty-related physical and psychological fitness-duty exams; work performance records,” and other investigations related to their conduct on any criminal records or any criminal records.
“Officers with history of serious disciplinary issues should not serve in those capabilities in our communities, and those history should not come only after disaster,” said Pritjkar. “Our justice system must be built on the trust. Communities should be able to trust that when they call the police to their home, the officer replying will be well trained and without the prejudice of history or without the prejudice or misconduct and police officers should be able to believe that they are serving with responsible and compelled persons.”
Massey’s family has said that they hope that this new law will become a model for other states.
“Thanks to your support and God bless you,” his mother, Donna Massey, stated that after signing the law by the Governor.
Before Gracan was hired in Sangamon County and went to kill Massey, Questions about their conduct Other police agencies were well documented. But during the process of hiring those concerns in any way, the Sangamon County Sheriff was never shared with the office.
In his fifth police job, he refused to terminate a high-speed chase and traveled more than 110 mph-Kaval ended after hitting a deer. A department report where Gracon was appointed, also said that he was struggling with the report writing and was aggressive in his search for drugs.
Gracon is Massey’s death is scheduled to go on test in October In Poreia County. Illinois is the Supreme Court Weight the weight of a request from Gracan to be released from jail in front of his murder trial.
