DOJ Probes Mississippi Sheriff’s Office’s ‘Despicable’ Torture of Black Men

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a probe into a Mississippi sheriff’s office’s “despicable” torture of two Black men.
On Thursday, the DOJ announced that it was investigating the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department after their officers were accused of torturing two Black men in an attack that included beatings, assault with a sex toy and the use of stun guns.
The Justice Department will investigate the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department for potential patterns of excessive force, unlawful stops, searches, arrests, and racially biased policing, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said.
In 2023, five Rankin County sheriff’s deputies admitted to breaking into a home without a warrant and assaulting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker for hours. A sixth officer from the Richland Police Department was also convicted for his role in the attack.
Several of the officers belonged to a group notorious for excessive force, which they called the “Goon Squad.” In March, all six were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 40 years.
U.S. District Judge Tom Lee said the officers’ actions were “egregious and despicable.” He imposed prison sentences close to the top of the guidelines for almost all of the former officers.
“The concerns about the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department did not end with the demise of the Goon Squad,” Clarke said Thursday.
Clarke said the Justice Department has also received reports of deputies repeatedly misusing stun guns, unlawfully entering homes, using “shocking racial slurs,” and deploying “dangerous, cruel tactics” to assault individuals in custody.
Federal prosecutors say the attacks on Jenkins and Parker were set in motion on January 24, 2023, after a racist call for vigilante violence. Deputy Brett McAlpin, who is white, called to complain that two Black men were staying with a white woman at a home in Braxton.
After breaking into the home, officers handcuffed Jenkins and Parker, dousing their faces with milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup while hurling racial slurs. They forced the men to strip naked and shower together to hide the evidence of the attack, continuing to mock them with racist taunts and assaulting them with sex objects.
Along with McAlpin, those convicted include ex-deputies Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton, Daniel Opdyke, and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield.
“The depravity of the crimes committed by these defendants cannot be overstated,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said after the sentencing.
In a statement on Thursday, Malik Shabazz and Trent Walker, attorneys for Jenkins and Parker, said, “This is a first, critical step in cleaning up the Sheriff’s Department and holding Rankin County legally accountable for the years of constitutional violations against its citizenry.”
“All of this took place because, despite innumerable warnings, Rankin County and Sheriff Bailey belligerently refused to properly monitor and supervise this rogue department,” the statement added.
In a Facebook post, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office said, “The Department of Justice announced today that it is beginning an investigation into various policing practices at the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department. We have increased our agency’s transparency by placing our policies and procedures, in addition to our compliments and complaints portal, on the Sheriff’s Department website.”
“We will continue this transparency and will fully cooperate with all aspects of this investigation, while also welcoming DOJ’s input into our updated policies and practices,” the statement added.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.