The Justice Department has launched a federal civil rights investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi. This investigation comes after five former sheriff's deputies and a police officer, known as the "Goon Squad," were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for a brutal assault on two Black men. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke emphasized that the investigation would focus on whether the sheriff's office engaged in systemic abuses, improper detentions, and racial discrimination. Clarke stated that they had received reports of excessive force, illegal home entries, and racial slurs. "This type of conduct was far too common," Clarke said.
U.S. Attorney Todd Gee noted additional accusations of misconduct, including deputies allegedly defecating in residents' homes. He remarked that the alleged behavior "calls back to some of the worst periods of Mississippi history."
This marks the 12th civil rights investigation into local agencies under Attorney General Merrick Garland, with previous investigations revealing similar patterns of misconduct in cities like Minneapolis, Louisville, and Phoenix. The Justice Department is negotiating court-enforceable reforms in those cities, targeting excessive force policies, training, and accountability measures.
The Goon Squad's actions have reignited calls for stronger police oversight. Six white officers, including five deputies, were convicted of conspiracy and deprivation of rights after torturing two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Parker, in a racist attack. The officers entered a home without a warrant, using racial slurs, stun guns, and subjected the men to a mock execution. Jenkins was shot in the mouth, but the officers failed to provide aid, instead covering up the crime.
Judge Tom Lee, who presided over the case, called the acts committed by Christian Dedmon the most brutal. Dedmon, along with the other officers, received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 40 years.
Link: Washington Post
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