“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

As a woman from the Bible Belt I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard people say the phrase, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Sometimes it’s a joke. Other times it is a very serious statement. Never have I heard that phrase and feared for my or anyone else’s life. But on July 6th, Sonya Massey was murdered by police after she repeated the phrase.

Sonya Massey called police because she believed someone might have burglarized her apartment or tried to enter it (those exact facts have been reported differently). As she was looking for her ID, the officer noticed a pot boiling on the stove and directed her to remove it to avoid a fire. As she went to go remove it and move towards the counter/sink, one officer backs up.
She asks him “Where you going?”
Officer 1: “Away from your hot steaming water!”
Sonya: “Away from my hot steaming water?”
Officer 1: “yeah”
Sonya: “Oh. I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Officer 2: “huh?”
Sonya: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Officer 2: “You better f*cking not. I swear to God. I’ll f*cking shoot you in your f*cking face!”
Officer 2, Deputy Grayson, pulls his gun immediately.
Sonya: “Ok. I’m sorry!”
Sonya holds something red in front of her face. It was not the pot of water. That pot was black.
Officer 2: “Drop the f*cking pot!”
Then she sets it down and hides behind the counter.
Officer 2: “Drop the f*cking pot!”
Officer 1 pulls his gun
Officer 2, Deputy Grayson, fires his gun 3 times, indeed shooting her in the face.

Officer 1 offers to get his aid kit.
Officer 2: Nah it’s a headshot (chuckles) dude she’s done. You can go get it but it’s a headshot.

They continue to discuss for another minute or two before rendering any type of aid.

Sonya Massey didn’t deserve to die.

She didn’t deserve to be treated this way. She was not a threat to them. She never raised the pot above the counter. She didn’t deserve to be killed in her own home. If she had in fact thrown the pot of water at them, deadly force would not have been justified. But she never threatened them. Or did she?

Did the rebuke activate the evil in the officer? Did the mention of the name of Jesus infuriate him? Did their response of backing up reveal that they were not the best intentioned? Was the threat a spiritual one? Was she rebuking their fear of her? Was she rebuking racial bias? Was she rebuking an evil spirit she picked up on them because of their actions?

Was he like many other officers?… Was he guilty of racial prejudice and bias that says that Black folk are a threat even when, like Sonya, we present as non-threatening?

We will never know what exactly caused her to say those words from her mouth. What we do know is that after acquiescing and following their orders, she still ended up murdered in her home over a pot of boiling water and a phrase.

Every time I hear the phrase, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” I will think of Sonya Massey.

Watch the video here. https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/video-reveals-tense-scene-of-sangamon-county-shooting-sonya-massey-springfield/3497418/