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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.
* Here is Grayson admitting he had no evidence against Adkins…
* The transcript…
Sean Grayson: Hey for the, for that NTA () on the charge for offenses, is it intent to deliver or just possession of meth? What are we putting on that?
Chief of Kincaid: You go anything on him?
Grayson: No.
Chief: On a Notice to Appear? I would just do intent to deliver.
Grayson: OK, and there’s a baggie, but I wasn’t going to mess with fixed testing it. I didn’t really care that much.
Chief: What was it?
Grayson: It was just like a baggie, but I didn’t really care to field test it to be honest with you.
* Back to the story…
Carlton Mayers II, an attorney and police reform consultant who worked with lawmakers on some of the original language of the SAFE T Act, said that the original bill didn’t come with any funding for ILETSB’s new responsibilities, which had to be appropriated the next year. He added that the agency also still lacks administrative rules, which are proposed by state agencies and then approved by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR).
Those administrative rules would lay out not only the processes for discretionary decertification, but could also speak to things like what’s required of a department’s background investigation, which right now is only required to include a check of the Officer Professional Conduct Database.
In a statement, a spokesperson hired by ILETSB pointed to its “multiple mandates to implement” for its delay in “the establishment of discretionary decertification hearings.”
“We are committed to leading this work thoughtfully and deliberately to ensure our law enforcement maintains the highest level of professional standards, and have made significant progress in building this new initiative from the ground up,” the statement continued. “We have engaged a range of partners and studied best practices from across the country to ensure we get this right from day one.”
The spokesperson wrote that the agency “anticipates” that “day one” will come in the “4th quarter of 2024.”
posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 11:54 am
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Dude couldn’t get a job as a bank teller with that background, and he was carrying a gun.
As a retired LEO, thanks a load Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department.
Comment by Flyin'Elvis'-Utah Chapter Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 12:10 pm
- Chief of Kincaid: You go anything on him?
Grayson: No.
Chief: On a Notice to Appear? I would just do intent to deliver. -
Nice to see the chief going along with fabricating charges out of thin air. Maybe he shouldn’t be in law enforcement either.
Comment by Excitable Boy Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 12:33 pm
Taking months to draft and file administrative rules is being deliberate and possibly delayed. Taking years (plural) is avoiding the issue and not treating it as an agency priority. That comes from the top and those at the top should answer. The law was passed in 2021. If it was actually a priority they would’ve been working and drafting immediately. Three years later there’s nothing but excuses and blame. You don’t need additional appropriated money to draft and file rules…if it’s something you actually want to do.
Comment by fs Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:01 pm
==Nice to see the chief going along with fabricating charges out of thin air.==
. . . and opting for the higher-level “intent to deliver” charge, even though there was not even evidence to support a charge of simple possession.
Comment by charles in charge Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:03 pm
Sounds like Christian County has a problem bigger than just Grayson.
Comment by JoanP Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:03 pm
From all accounts, Sean Grayson has been a menace and a bully during his time with various police departments. Grayson’s attitude toward handling and testing evidence indicates he isn’t following procedures.
Grayson is right where he belongs—-behind bars.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:11 pm
The system that protected Grayson and allowed him to move between departments is just as rotten as he is. Springfield needs more than just Campbell and his crocodile tears removed from office, it needs a thorough review by the US Department of Justice.
Comment by Sally Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:16 pm
- Sounds like Christian County has a problem bigger than just Grayson. -
Notably that the chief of police is now running for Sheriff.
Comment by Excitable Boy Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:18 pm
The Christian County State’s Attorney filed charges without any evidence? Sounds like there were multiple failures at every level on this one.
Comment by One Trick Pony Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:24 pm
The failures of local law enforcement bodies who came into contact with and/or employed Grayson continue to be uncovered and enumerated in the press.
I don’t know how the puzzle pieces of failure get put together without DOJ involvement. These are not isolated failures– the lack of surprise expressed by the Kincaid Chief, and his willingness to go along with charges in the absence of evidence, is telling. That response tells us this is a normal way to do business in some places. this behavior vast unspoken conspiracy to undermine systems of justice without regard for the lives it destroys or kills.
Comment by Who else Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:41 pm
It’s the flip-side of the coin in Will County, where charges aren’t brought against cops no matter how much evidence there is.
We’re almost at year number 3 of Jim Glasgow ‘investigating’ a county sheriff sniper shooting an unarmed man with his hands up. Somehow he can’t seem to find any evidence - Despite almost every cop wearing a body camera, which Glasgow also won’t release any video of to the public.
Miraculously, he also states any charges have to wait for the investigation to complete.
Last week, he put out some PR about how the IL state police chiefs even voted him as ‘public official of the year’.
—
“He’s a policeman’s prosecutor and he is always on our side,” said Chief Marc Maton
—
To paraphrase George Carlin;
It’s all one big club - and you ain’t in it.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:56 pm
I certainly hope that Adkins files a federal civil rights and false arrest charge against everyone he can think of including the County
Comment by DuPage Saint Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:58 pm
Somebody needs to look at all the info coming out in various jurisdictions, and that sounds like a job for the DOJ.
Comment by Lincoln Lad Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 1:58 pm
Maybe police and prosecutors shouldn’t be in charge of police accountability.
Comment by Stephanie Kollmann Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 2:07 pm
…still not loving police…
Comment by Still D.R.E. Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 2:32 pm
==“He’s a policeman’s prosecutor and he is always on our side,” said Chief Marc Maton.==
This statement is a giant red flag. Always being on the side of the police is NOT the appropriate role for a State’s Attorney. In fact, approaching the office that way does a huge disservice to the people the SA is supposed to serve. It also confirms something most of us already know: James Glasgow is not going to be the person to hold police accountable for misconduct, ever.
Comment by charles in charge Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 2:42 pm
It is almost like every time something gets to the point of people dying, there is always a very long trail of past red flags and bad behavior, but everyone in a position to do something about it never did.
Same story with school shootings. Same story with DV incidents. I could go on and on.
Comment by Homebody Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 3:58 pm
People’s indifference is the best breeding ground for corruption to grow.
Comment by JR Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 5:03 pm
Corruption is paid by the poor. The duty of our society is to challenge corruption, but the public won’t pay for a newspaper subscription, thus they won’t financially support investigative journalism. None of the main issues that humanity is facing will ever be resolved without access to information that is disseminated to us by journalists. Open your wallets and buy a news subscription to support the press, friends. It’s time we banned together and held others accountable, but it cannot be done by one person alone.
Comment by Jen Smithers Thursday, Sep 5, 24 @ 5:08 pm