MICHAEL GOLDBERG | ASSOCIATED PRESS/REPORT FOR AMERICA
BRANDON, Miss. — In a case involving six former white Mississippi law officers, pleaded guilty on Monday to state charges for brutally assaulting two Black men in a racist attack. All six individuals had recently confessed to their crimes in a related federal civil rights case.
The officers, who referred to themselves as the “Goon Squad,” had a reputation for using excessive force and covering up their violent acts. This included an assault that resulted in a deputy shooting one of the victims in the mouth.
In January, without a warrant, the officers entered a house and proceeded to handcuff and assault the two men using stun guns, a sex toy, and various other objects. Throughout a 90-minute torture session, they taunted the victims with racial slurs. In an attempt to cover up their actions, the officers planted drugs and a gun, leading to false charges against the victims that lasted for months.
The conspiracy began to unravel when one of the officers admitted to lying, prompting the others to confess. The charges against the victims were not dropped until June when federal and state investigators became involved, according to their attorney.
The men involved in the case include former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies Brett McAlpin, Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Jeffrey Middleton, and Daniel Opdyke, as well as former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield. They all appeared in court on Monday wearing jumpsuits with their jail names taped over.
State prosecutors recommended sentences ranging from five to 30 years, although the judge is not obligated to follow these recommendations. Any time served for the state convictions will run concurrently with the potentially lengthier federal sentences that they will receive in November.
The victims, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, were present at Monday’s hearing and sat in the front row, just a few feet away from their attackers’ families. Monica Lee, the mother of Damien Cameron, a Black man who died while in Elward’s custody in 2021, embraced them.
After the officers were led away in shackles, Parker said, “I enjoyed the view of seeing the walk of shame. Head down, the disgust everybody felt for them and that they feel for themselves. I hope this is a lesson to everybody out there: Justice will be served.”
The charges stemmed from an Associated Press investigation in March that linked some of the officers to at least four violent incidents since 2019, resulting in the deaths of two Black men. In addition to Jenkins’ lasting injuries, another Black man accused the officers of shoving a gun into his mouth. In February, the Justice Department launched a civil rights probe into the matter, and the fallout has continued ever since.
All six former officers pleaded guilty to state charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to hinder prosecution. Dedmon and Elward, who kicked in a door, also admitted to home invasion. Elward additionally pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for shoving a gun into one of the victims’ mouths and pulling the trigger, which authorities referred to as a “mock execution.”
Following the publicity surrounding the case, some residents pointed to a police culture that they claim gives officers unchecked power to abuse their authority.
Rankin County’s majority-white suburbs have been a destination for white residents fleeing the capital, Jackson, which has one of the highest percentages of Black residents among major U.S. cities.
The charging documents state that the officers warned Jenkins and Parker to “go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River.”
Jenkins and Parker were targeted because a white neighbor complained about two Black men staying at a home with a white woman, according to court documents.
Parker, who was helping care for the homeowner, Kristi Walley, a childhood friend who is paralyzed, said, “He’s a blessing. Every time I’ve needed him, he’s been here. There were times I’ve been living here by myself, and I didn’t know what I was going to do.” Parker and Jenkins have left Mississippi and are unsure if they will ever return for an extended period.
Jenkins still struggles to speak due to his injuries. The gunshot lacerated his tongue, broke his jaw, and exited through his neck. He can only consume soft foods easily and experiences recurrent nightmares.
Jenkins said, “As far as justice, I knew we were going to get it. But I thought it was maybe going to take longer.”
There are still other consequences yet to be determined.
Lee claims that Elward, along with another deputy not connected to the assault on Jenkins, killed her son. A grand jury declined to indict Elward after he punched Cameron and shocked him with a stun gun. However, a Rankin County judge ruled on Wednesday that Lee’s claims of excessive force could proceed against Elward, and she said the FBI informed her that they are reviewing the case.
Additionally, Carvis Johnson, the Black man who stated that another deputy pointed a gun at him, filed a federal lawsuit from behind bars, alleging that McAlpin beat him during an arrest and told him to stay out of Rankin County.
Meanwhile, Jenkins and Parker are seeking $400 million in damages in their federal civil rights lawsuit against Rankin County.
Federal prosecutors, in unsealed court documents, suggest that only some members of the Goon Squad participated in the illegal raid. The documents indicate that there are other Rankin County deputies who are known to the United States Attorney.
Trent Walker, an attorney for Jenkins and Parker, said, “We would certainly hope that they continue to investigate the Goon Squad and other outstanding claims that may exist against these officers, as well as other officers.”
Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg.
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