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