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This story was originally published by Invisible Institute, IPM Newsroom, and Illinois Times.
Kyle Adkins was leaving his parents’ house in Kincaid, a small village in central Illinois’ Christian County, to pick up his young children from their mother’s house just a few blocks away on the night of May 8, 2021.
Kincaid police officer Sean Grayson pulled him over — but he wasn’t sure why.
Grayson told Adkins there was a warrant out for his arrest and issued him a “notice to appear,” a document equivalent to an arrest, recommending felony drug charges against him. The case dragged out for two years before it was dropped, and a new investigation reveals the warrant — and other evidence Grayson said he had against Adkins — never actually existed. Body camera footage shows Grayson admitting to the chief of police he had no evidence to recommend charges, but even after the footage surfaced in court, no other department or agency was notified.
Meanwhile, Adkins, who works as a mechanic, had to show up to court regularly for years, face questions about his reputation, and deal with repercussions for his loved ones pulled into his criminal case. He said he even struggled to get formal visitation with his kids while the case was ongoing — and said he’s just now building a stronger relationship with his oldest child, now 11.
Grayson, now 30, would go on to work at four other police departments across central Illinois, the last being the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, where he would fatally shoot and kill Sonya Massey, 36, in her home in July 2024 after she called the police for help. Grayson shot at Massey, an unarmed Black woman whose family had called police with concerns about her mental health, three times, hitting her once in the head. He’s since been charged with murdering her.
Police accountability and legal experts who reviewed multiple internal misconduct investigations involving Grayson, including Adkins’s dropped criminal case, say Grayson’s misconduct should have sounded alarm bells in Illinois law enforcement long before he applied to work at the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office.
“What happened to Sonya Massey is shining a glaring light on policy changes that need to be made if we are serious about holding the police accountable in Illinois,” said Loren Jones, who directs criminal legal system reform efforts at Impact for Equity, a public interest law and policy center in Chicago.
Legal Loopholes Let Grayson Jump Between Departments
Experts say that instances of dishonesty or questions about Grayson’s credibility should have been reported to state authorities, documented for future background investigators, and that such actions could have prevented the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office from hiring him in May 2023. The state’s new discretionary decertification system, which makes it easier to strip officers of their ability to work in policing, went into effect in July 2022 but has been hampered by delays, according to a May 2024 report by Impact for Equity.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus were responsible for the passage of the SAFE-T Act, which reformed Illinois’ police certification system for the first time in decades. Floor discussion was severely limited on the legislative package, which included provisions that cut off access to some records on police misconduct that were previously accessible.
But despite these reforms aimed at ridding the state of officers with significant misconduct, new reporting by Invisible Institute, IPM News, and Illinois Times shows that little action was taken to stop Grayson from landing new law enforcement jobs in departments across central Illinois. Authorities in several police agencies that documented Grayson’s misconduct internally did not report the problems to the state, as required, or to Grayson’s future employers.
After Grayson left Kincaid and took a job with a different sheriff’s office, a supervisor stated on a recording that he believed Grayson potentially lied on a report documenting his reasoning for a dangerous high-speed chase — but the department higher-ups never wrote that down in their report. Instead, they cleared him of misconduct and found he made a mistake, absolving the department of the requirement to report Grayson’s dishonesty to the state.
Those same officials never even interviewed a female detainee who said that Grayson had been inappropriate with her at the county jail and a local hospital, she said — including about her allegations that he asked her to remove drugs from her body in front of him and pulled back a curtain at a hospital while she was exposed.
Despite this string of misconduct with numerous agencies across central Illinois, none of the existing accountability mechanisms prevented Grayson from landing new jobs in other jurisdictions — and it’s unclear how recent statewide reforms would prevent another Sean Grayson from taking advantage of the loopholes.
“Some agencies are more concerned about protecting the reputation of themselves and their officers than the safety of Illinois citizens.”
“Some agencies are more concerned about protecting the reputation of themselves and their officers than the safety of Illinois citizens,” said Jones, the lawyer with Impact for Equity.
Officials in Illinois have been circumspect about the next steps they intend to take, especially since Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell announced his retirement on August 9. Officials with Pritzker’s office and Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, ignored or declined requests for comment.
“I Thought It Was Gonna Ruin My Life”
Kyle Adkins claimed that he was arrested by Kincaid Police without any evidence to support the charges. During the arrest, the officer, Grayson, did not initially have his body camera turned on, which may have violated the Illinois Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. However, Grayson later turned on his camera at the station and read Adkins his Miranda rights. Grayson claimed to have video evidence of informants making drug buys from Adkins, leading to a warrant for his arrest. He then tried to coerce Adkins into setting up controlled drug buys with other individuals in the area.
Adkins, who denied involvement in any drug-related activities, expressed disbelief at the accusations and the lack of evidence against him. During the arrest, Grayson called the Chief of Kincaid Police to determine the charges to be brought against Adkins, despite not finding any drugs on him and not conducting further testing on a baggie found in Adkins’ possession.
Adkins was eventually released with a notice to appear in court and faced felony charges of intent to deliver methamphetamines, despite having no prior criminal record beyond traffic infractions. Adkins, now 29, feared that the false charges would ruin his life. State police certification records indicate that Grayson left the Kincaid Police Department on May 18. The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board received a form from Kincaid Police Chief DJ Mathon on May 19 stating that Grayson had been terminated due to not living within a 10-mile radius of the village, as required by the village Board of Trustees. Mathon clarified in a later response that there was no police misconduct related to Grayson’s termination.
Despite Grayson’s departure, the Kincaid Police Department continued its case against Adkins, who faced felony charges in Christian County Circuit Court. Mathon announced his campaign for county sheriff, focusing on combating drug crimes. A few weeks later, Mathon pulled over Adkins’s girlfriend, Brittney Myers, and found cannabis in her car. Although initially charged with possession of methamphetamine, further testing revealed it was cannabis, resulting in the charges being dropped later.
The incident with Myers raised concerns about the reliability of field drug tests, which are known for producing false positives. Such tactics, including pressuring potential informants, are common in rural areas, as observed by criminal justice experts like Ralph Weisheit and Maybell Romero.
Adkins faced further legal issues, with a scheduled trial delayed due to a motion filed by the State’s Attorney to allow more time for preparation, involving Kincaid Chief of Police DJ Mathon as a key witness. Chief Mathon informed State’s Attorney Poggenpohl on August 31, 2022, that he had found an audio-video interview of the defendant in the case. Mathon had not known about this interview until reviewing the case file on that day.
Poggenpohl had taken over the case from former State’s Attorney Havera when Havera left his position in December 2021. Havera did not respond to requests for comment. The officer who conducted the interview, Sean Grayson, had left the Kincaid Police Department without sending the interview to the State’s Attorney’s office. The video was later sent to the defendant’s attorney, Tiffany Senger.
After Poggenpohl lost his election bid, he handed the case to the new State’s Attorney, John McWard. The video surfaced just before the trial was set to begin. Senger then moved to suppress the evidence in the case, arguing that Grayson had arrested the defendant without a warrant or legal justification.
During a court hearing on February 24, 2023, Judge Bradley Paisley questioned the legality of Grayson’s actions in the case. The judge and attorneys debated whether an officer can arrest someone by lying about a warrant.
Ultimately, on April 21, 2023, McWard moved to dismiss the charges without a ruling on the motion to suppress evidence. Mathon declined to comment when contacted by the press.
Experts noted breakdowns in accountability in the case, including the lack of oversight by Mathon and the State’s Attorney’s Office. They also highlighted the obligation to document issues in the case and disclose them in the future.
The responsibility of the State’s Attorney in Christian County ends once the case is dropped, according to legal expert Rachel Moran. There is no obligation to share information about past misconduct with other agencies. Moran emphasized the importance of prosecutors being aware of past misconduct and disclosing it to defendants in cases involving the officer in question. Defense counsel will not be able to call out the prosecutor for failing to disclose information unless they have a way to uncover it, creating a significant gap in the Brady disclosure system according to the speaker. This obstacle to accountability and fairness was highlighted as a major issue.
Law enforcement officials were required to report untruthfulness to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) once it was discovered in August 2022. However, it was noted that no report had been submitted about Grayson until the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office reported Massey’s killing. This lack of reporting to the Officer Professional Conduct Database was concerning.
Despite concerns raised by Massey’s family and activists for new legislation, Illinois leaders declined to detail their thoughts on further reforms to the SAFE-T Act. Questions were raised about the rushed passage of the Act, and a call for increased transparency between departments was made.
The case involving Grayson highlighted gaps in the Professional Conduct database, leaving room for officers like Grayson to move between departments. The need for mechanisms outside of police involvement to hold them accountable was emphasized.
Attorney General Raoul mentioned that the reforms to the police decertification system were supported by law enforcement groups but were stalled. He was cautious about pointing fingers at ILETSB for any failures in the system related to Massey’s death.
Legislative reforms connected to Massey’s death were not fully committed to unless they addressed systemic issues documented throughout the state. Potential legislation to address these issues was being looked into by State Sen. Doris Turner.
The lack of funding and administrative rules for ILETSB’s new responsibilities under the SAFE-T Act were highlighted as challenges. The agency was working to establish discretionary decertification hearings and maintain professional standards in law enforcement. The agency spokesperson stated that they have collaborated with various partners and researched best practices nationwide to ensure a successful implementation from the beginning. They anticipate the launch to happen in the 4th quarter of 2024.
According to Mayers, there may be more instances where individuals and law enforcement agencies claim ignorance of reporting requirements until the rules are established and enforced.
Expert RaShall Brackney highlighted the overlooked warning signs in Grayson’s background that should have been caught by the state’s safeguards and the final accountability measure, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office’s background investigation.
Brackney emphasized the importance of understanding that not everyone who applies to be a police officer is suitable for the role, urging agencies to take responsibility for ensuring clear records and preventing risks to other departments and jurisdictions.
Adkins and Myers, who now reside in Mechanicsburg, Illinois, shared their struggles after their arrests in Kincaid, which led to lost jobs, strained relationships, and a tarnished reputation.
The article was a collaborative effort between Invisible Institute, IPM Newsroom, and Illinois Times, with journalists Sam Stecklow, Farrah Anderson, and Dean Olsen contributing to the report. Can you rewrite this sentence for me?
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