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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Mississippi ex-officers plead guilty to state charges in torture of Black men

By Paulina Villegas Washington Post

Six white former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty to state charges Monday for physically and verbally abusing two Black men in a blatant racist attack in January that included a 90-minute torture session, in a case that has sparked outrage over police brutality against Black men.

The officers admitted entering a home in Braxton, Mississippi, without a warrant, where they handcuffed, punched and verbally abused the two men with racist slurs. They then carried out a disturbing series of violent acts, including Tasering the men more than a dozen times, federal prosecutors said earlier this month when the men admitted their guilt in a connected federal civil rights case.

The officers, who branded themselves “the Goon Squad,” threw eggs at Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, held them down while pouring milk and alcohol over their faces, and assaulted one of them with a sword, prosecutors said. One officer carried out a “mock execution” by inserting a gun into the mouth of one man, according to the indictment. When the firearm discharged, it broke his jaw.

On Monday, the six men pleaded guilty to state charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to hinder prosecution and agreed to sentences recommended by state prosecutors that range from five to 15 years, according to Mississippi News.

The officers include five former members of Rankin County Sheriff’s office: Brett McAlpin, 52, Christian Dedmon, 28, Jeffrey Middleton, 46, Hunter Elward, 31, Daniel Opdyke, 27. The sixth officer is a former member of the Richland police department: Joshua Hartfield, 31.

These sentences will run concurrent to the federal sentences they are expected to receive in court in mid-November, according to the Associated Press.

Some of the officers nicknamed themselves the “Goon Squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force and cover it up, including the January assault, the investigation found. After the attack, the officers concocted a cover story, including falsely charging Jenkins with drug possession, planting a gun and drugs, and destroying surveillance footage, prosecutors say.

“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,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement earlier this month.

The Jan. 24 incident stemmed from a complaint of “suspicious behavior” at the property by a White neighbor of McAlpin, one of the police officers. Jenkins and Parker were living at the property at the time, court documents say.

Dedmon was tasked by McAlpin to take care of the complaint. Dedmon then approached officers Middleton, Elward and Opdyke and they headed to the house.

In June, Jenkins and Parker sued some Rankin County officials over the “sadistic torture session.”

On Monday, Parker and Jenkins sat in a Rankin County courthouse and watched as the former law enforcement officers pleaded guilty for an incident that had long-lasting psychological as well as physical effects on their lives.

Jenkins was hospitalized for a month after the assault, from which he suffered permanent nerve damage and numbness on one side of the face. He is still suffering from psychological trauma and his demeanor transformed, his mother, Mary, previously told The Washington Post.

“I hope this is a lesson to everybody out there. Justice will be served,” Parker said Monday, according to Mississippi Today.