DOJ To Probe Mississippi Sheriff’s Office For Racist Policing

The Department of Justice announced Thursday it is opening a civil rights investigation into potentially racist policing practices within the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi.

In April, five deputies from Rankin County were sentenced to prison for violating the civil rights of two Black men. Self-styled as the Goon Squad, the five white deputies beat and tortured Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker during a no-warrant home raid in January 2023.

“The five Rankin County Goon Squad deputies who assaulted Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Parker are in prison. But our prosecution of the goon squad deputies does not mean that the inadequate practices that may have fostered it have ended,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said at a news conference in Washington. “Our investigation will answer that question.”

Clarke said the department will investigate whether deputies in the sheriff’s office practice excessive force, unlawful traffic stops, searches and arrests along with racially discriminatory policing practices.

The Justice Department has initiated several investigations into law enforcement departments across the country over the last four years, including in Louisville, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee; and Phoenix. Earlier this year, the department launched an investigation into the police department in Lexington, Mississippi, a town in Holmes County that’s about an hour from Rankin County.

“These investigations involve a variety of allegations and circumstances, but they have one important thing in common. They can be the most effective means the Justice Department has at its disposal to prevent the tremendous harm that extends from unlawful policing,” said Clarke, who leads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

Hunter Elward, Daniel Opdyke, Brett McAlpin, Christian Dedmon and Jeffrey Middleton were sentenced to federal and state prison in April. Joshua Hartfield, an officer with the Richland Police Department, was also sentenced for his involvement.

Elward shot Jenkins in the mouth after officers kicked a door open in their home and shouted racial slurs at them while simultaneously punching and kicking the two men. The officers also sexually assaulted Jenkins and Terrell with a sex toy. The Justice Department said all six officers entered the home of Jenkins and Parker without any probable cause.

Jenkins and Parker filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, alleging he was complicit in the actions of the officers involved. In May, another lawsuit was filed against Dedmon, alleging he tortured a Black man with a police dog.

The DOJ investigation “illustrates the indispensable role of pattern or practice investigations in protecting our nation’s communities and their most vulnerable citizens,” Clarke said.