The former Illinois sheriff’s deputy on trial in the 2024 death of Sonya Massey testified Monday that he did not use his stun gun during the fatal encounter because he wasn't sure if it would work because of her clothing.

"I didn’t want to take the chance of the taser malfunctioning," Sean Grayson told the court. "The taser doesn't work on everybody."

Grayson, wearing a dark suit and a striped tie, spoke authoritatively and glanced alternatively at the lawyers questioning him and the jury as he recounted the moments leading up to the July 6, 2024, shooting. He and another deputy, Dawson Farley, had responded to Massey's Springfield home after she called police about a possible prowler.

Massey, 36, a Black mother of two, was shot and killed in her kitchen during an encounter with poli

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