The US Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation of Illinois’ Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office four months after a deputy fatally shot Sonya Massey while responding to her call about a possible prowler outside the 36-year-old Black woman’s home.

The U.S. Justice Department is demanding records related to the shooting of Sonya Massey, an Illinois woman who was killed in her home by a sheriff's deputy, as it investigates how local authorities treat Black residents and people with behavioral disabilities.

The U.S. Justice Department is demanding records related to the shooting of an Illinois woman who was killed in her home by a sheriff’s deputy

The fatal shooting earlier this year of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, sparked national outcry over police violence.