#2 former Mississippi officers sentenced after pleading guilty to torture of Black men

[reasoningdaily]

RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. -- Former Rankin County, Mississippi, sheriff's deputies Hunter Elward and Jeffrey Middleton were sentenced in federal court on Tuesday after pleading guilty, along with five additional former law enforcement officers, to a total of 16 charges related to the January 2023 torture of two Black men.

Elward, who pleaded guilty to the most serious charge in the indictment -- discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence -- was sentenced to 241 months, or about 20 years, according to the Department of Justice.

"I hate myself for it," Elward said during the sentencing hearing, according to Jackson ABC affiliate WAPT. "I accept my responsibility."

Middleton was sentenced to 17.5 years or 210 months in prison for his role in the incident, according to the Department of Justice. The remaining four officers who pleaded guilty in this case will be sentenced during hearings on Wednesday and Thursday.

Michael Jenkins, who was shot in the mouth by Elward during the incident, spoke to WAPT on Tuesday afternoon after Elward stood up and apologized to him in court.

"I'm glad he looked at me. I'm glad he see me," Jenkins said, adding that while he "feels sorry" for Elward's family, the former officer got "what he deserved."

Eddie Parker, the second victim in the case, told Elward in court on Tuesday that he forgave him for his actions, according to WAPT, and said that he is "satisfied" with the sentence.

Asked about his decision to forgive Elward, Parker said, "For what is given and what is done, I forgive that part, but other than that, he still did what he did and he has to be punished."

"I always stand up for justice and for what's right," he added.

Asked if he also forgives Elward, Jenkins told WAPT, "I don't know. No, no, because if he wouldn't have got caught he'd still be doing the same thing."

Former Rankin County sheriff's deputies Elward, Middleton, Christian Dedmon, Brett McAlpin and Daniel Opdyke, along with Joshua Hartfield, a former Richland police officer, pleaded guilty to 16 federal charges related to the torture and physical abuse of three Rankin County men in two unrelated incidents, according to a statement released by U.S. Department of Justice on Aug. 3, 2023.

The charges include civil rights conspiracy, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. The former officers agreed to sentences ranging from five to 30 years as recommended by prosecutors, but the judge is not bound by the agreement, according to The Associated Press.

According to the charging documents, the incident on Jan. 24, 2023, took place when a white neighbor claimed in a complaint to McAlpin, the chief RCSO investigator, that she observed "suspicious activity" from Black men staying at a nearby property.

McAlpin asked Dedmon, who was an RCSO investigator at the time, to look into the incident, and Dedmon proceeded to reach out to a group of shift officers who called themselves "The Goon Squad" because of their "willingness to use excessive force and not report it," according to the documents.

During the incident, the officers beat Jenkins and Parker, sexually assaulted them with a sex toy and shocked them with Tasers for roughly 90 minutes while handcuffed, according to court documents obtained by ABC News. Jenkins was also shot in the mouth by Elward, per the DOJ.

And while Jenkins was bleeding on the floor, instead of providing medical aid, the officers "devised a false cover story to cover up their misconduct" and proceeded to "plant" and "tamper with evidence" to corroborate their story, the DOJ said.

"The defendants in this case tortured and inflicted unspeakable harm on their victims, egregiously violated the civil rights of citizens who they were supposed to protect, and shamefully betrayed the oath they swore as law enforcement officers," DOJ Sec. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement on Aug. 3, 2023. "The Justice Department will hold accountable officers who abuse the public trust that is essential to public safety."

The officers admitted that on Jan. 24, 2023, they entered a home where Jenkins and Parker were staying in Braxton, Rankin County, Mississippi, where they handcuffed and arrested the two men "without probable cause to believe they had committed any crime, called them racial slurs, and warned them to stay out of Rankin County," the DOJ said in a statement on Aug. 3, 2023, announcing the guilty pleas.

According to the federal charging documents obtained by ABC News, sentencing maximums range from three years in prison for lesser offenses to life in prison for the most serious offense of discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence.

The two victims -- Jenkins and Parker -- spoke out during a press conference Monday morning about the enduring trauma of the experience as their attorneys called on the judge to give the former officers the "maximum sentence."

"I'd like to thank everybody for supporting us and believing in us," said Jenkins, who was shot in the mouth during the incident. "It's been very hard for me this past year. I'm just looking forward to justice tomorrow. I hope they do right. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst."

Parker, who is set to testify during the sentencing hearings this week, per his attorney, said that it's been a "hard year," and he's glad that the day of sentencing, which was delayed twice before, has finally come.

"Everything needs to be done right because everything was done wrong," Parker said. "What's done already, man, can't be erased; it can't be taken back. I relive this every day."

Malik Shabazz, the lead attorney for Jenkins and Parker, said that his clients have "been through a lot of trauma" and called on U.S. District Judge Tom Lee to give each of the former officers the "maximum sentence."

"The day of justice has finally come," he said. "That's an important day, not only in Mississippi, but this is an important day for accountability for police brutality, all throughout America. Police officers are watching this sentencing ... they're watching to see whether law enforcement in Mississippi and law enforcement in America will be held sufficiently accountable for their acts of torture and brutality," he added.

The officers have not responded to ABC News' requests for comment.

Dedmon, Elward and Opdyke also pleaded guilty to three additional federal felony offenses related to a separate incident that took place on Dec. 4, 2022, per the DOJ.

The U.S. The Department of Justice launched an investigation into the incident in Feb. 2023, along with the FBI, amid outrage from the community and as attorneys for Jenkins and Parker filed a notice of claim for a $400 million federal lawsuit. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation also investigated the case that led to state charges against the officers.

"It's in court, and we're fighting," Shabazz told ABC News on Monday when asked about the status of the lawsuit.

[beardedmrbean]

The six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who tortured and abused two Black men in a racist attack were sentenced on Wednesday to 15 to 45 years in prisonon state charges. 

The men — former Rankin County Sheriff’s deputies Brett Morris McAlpin, 53; Christian Dedmon, 29; Jeffrey Middleton, 46; Hunter Elward, 31; and Daniel Opdyke, 28' and a former police officer from the city of Richland, Joshua Hartfield, 32 — had pleaded guilty to state charges in August.

McAlpin, Middleton, and Opdyke were sentenced to serve 20 years; Dedmon to 25 years; Elward to 45 years; and Hartfield to 15 years in federal penitentiaries. The sentences will be served concurrently with their federal sentences, and all were ordered to pay $6,431 within two years of release, and permanently surrender their law enforcement certificates.

Prosecutors said the white officers had nicknamed themselves the “Goon Squad” due to their willingness to use excessive force and cover up their brutal attack on Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker in January 2023.

In the attack, the men verbally abused Jenkins and Parker, beat them, assaulted them with stun guns and a sex toy, and one of them shot Jenkins in the mouth in a "mock execution."

The men had also pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with the assault and were sentenced to federal prison terms of 10 to 40 years. 

The attack

In January 2023, McAlpin received a call from a white person who complained that Jenkins and Parker were residing with a white woman at a house in Braxton, Mississippi.

McAlpin then texted a group — the self-described “The Goon Squad” — that the Justice Department described as being known “for using excessive force and not reporting it.”

The group of men then went to that home without a warrant and assaulted Jenkins and Parker, punched and kicked them, called them racial slurs, forced them to ingest liquids, and assaulted them with a dildo, the Justice Department said.

Dedmon also fired his gun twice in an effort to intimidate the men, the department said.

In a mock execution, Elward removed a bullet from the chamber of his gun and forced the gun into Jenkins’ mouth before pulling the trigger. No bullet was fired the first time, but he pulled the trigger a second time, and it lacerated Jenkins' tongue and broke his jaw.

The officers then planned a cover-up and agreed to plant drugs on Jenkins and Parker, and those false charges stood against the men for months, The Associated Press reported.

Sentencing

In Wednesday’s sentencing, attorneys read statements for the victims. 

“After Hunter Elward shot me, they left me to die bleeding on the floor and they tried to set me up to be imprisoned,” a statement on behalf of Michael Jenkins said. “January 24th, Your Honor, was the worst day of my life. I was brutally beaten and nearly killed by the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, also known as the Goon Squad. I never would have thought a night of hanging out with friends would nearly cost me my life.”

“They beat, kicked, tased, insulted, waterboarded and humiliated me over and over again,” the statement said. 

“I can no longer do what I love to do and that’s sing. I play the drums for my church. And because I was shot in the face, it affected my vision so I can no longer play. ... I wake it up at night covered in sweat because of the nightmares of my attack. Loud noises police lights, sirens, all give me extreme fear and anxiety. I am broken inside and I don’t ever think I’ll be the person I was,” the statement continued.

A statement on behalf of Eddie Parker said the actions of that night of terror “has left a scar on me that will last forever.”

“I never knew the ones that were sworn to protect and serve would be the ones I need protection from,” the statement said. “I am in constant fear someone will break into my home and terrorize me again … the humiliation and embarrassment from the sexual assault is too great to me to talk about.”

“My life was not perfect. But it was mine. I doubt if I’ll ever experience it again ... They should be given what they gave me and Michael Jenkins — which was no mercy and I pray for the maximum sentence,” his statement concluded.

[dnaamericaapp]

2 Black Men Tortured By Mississippi Officers Call For Toughest Sentences

Two Black men who were tortured by six Mississippi law enforcement officers called on a federal judge Monday to impose the harshest possible penalties against the disgraced former lawmen.

The former law officers admitted in August to subjecting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture.

After a mock execution went awry when Jenkins was shot in the mouth, they devised a coverup that included planting drugs and a gun. The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department then supported the deputies’ false charges, which stood against Jenkins and Parker for months.

U.S. District Judge Tom Lee will sentence two defendants each day, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after twice delaying the proceedings. An attorney for Jenkins and Parker called Monday for the “stiffest of sentences.”

“Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker continue to suffer emotionally and physically since this horrific and bloody attack by Rankin County deputies,” Malik Shabazz said in a statement. “A message must be sent to police in Mississippi and all over America,” he said, that such criminal conduct “will be met with the harshest of consequences.”

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey called the crimes by his deputies the worst case of police brutality he had ever seen. For months, Bailey said little about the episode. After the officers pleaded guilty in August, Bailey said the officers had gone rogue and promised to change the department.

Jenkins and Parker have called for his resignation, and they have filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department. -(source: abc news)

DNA America

“It’s what we know, not what you want us to believe.”

#dna #dnaamerica #news #politics

[dnaamericaapp]

Sentencing Delayed For Mississippi Ex-Cops Who Tortured And Sexually Assaulted 2 Black Men

Sentencing for the former Mississippi officers who tortured and sexually assaulted two Black men has been postponed for a second time.

According to ABC News, sentencing for Brett McAlpin, Christian Dedmon, Jeffrey Middleton, Hunter Elward, Daniel Opdyke and Joshua Hartfield has been postponed until March 19.

In August 2023, the six ex-cops pleaded guilty to federal charges including conspiracy against rights, obstructions of justice, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm under a crime of violence, and conspiracy to obstruct justice after they brutalized, tortured and sexually assaulted Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker.

Michael Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker were in a private residence in the village of Braxton on Jan. 24 when the location was raided by six white officers without a warrant, Black Lawyers for Justice said in a press release emailed to NewsOne.

The officers allegedly accused Jenkins and Parker of “dating white women” and “selling drugs” — allegations attorneys have denied — before handcuffing them. After they were restrained, the officers allegedly “repeatedly” brutally beat and kicked the men while using a Taser on both and threatening to kill them. A witness even described the officers participating in something of a Taser contest with Jenkins and Parker being the targets, Jenkins’ mother said. -(source: ap)

DNA America

“It’s what we know, not what you want us to believe.”

#dna #dnaamerica #news #politics

[dnaamericaapp]

Sheriff Announces Departmental Changes After Torture Of 2 Black Men

The sheriff of a predominantly white Mississippi town has announced departmental changes months after police officers known as “The Goon Squad” tortured two Black men.

According to WAPT News, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey stated that Jeffrey Artis of J. Artis Consulting, who reportedly has 50 years of collective experience with the FBI, helped revise the police department’s patrol policy and procedure handbook.

The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department has also revamped the complaint procedure, which may now be completed online, in person, by phone, or via U.S. Mail. Bailey noted the sheriff’s department recruited an internal affairs investigator to “help foster impartiality and fairness” in the reviews.

“This past January, inappropriate conduct from an isolated group of deputies injured citizens in our county and undermined the reputation of this department,” Bailey said in a news release.

Court filings indicate that five former deputies and one former Richland police officer tortured and physically assaulted Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker at a house in Braxton in January. The officers allegedly stun-gunned the men, waterboarded them, then shot Jenkins in the mouth.

The six former law enforcement officials pleaded guilty to state and federal crimes earlier this year. Sentencing is set for January 2024.

“Once the true facts were discovered, we took immediate action to remove the perpetrators from the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department,” Bailey added, “and they are being dealt with through the legal system.”

Bailey also stated that the Compliance Division is expanding to include more IA investigators so that any “complaints that rise to the level of serious investigation can be dealt with in a timely manner,” WAPT reported. -(source: wapt news)

DNA America

“It’s what we know, not what you want us to believe.”

#dna #dnaamerica #news #politics