DOJ To Probe Mississippi Sheriff’s Office For Racist Policing | EUROtoday

The Department of Justice introduced Thursday it’s opening a civil rights investigation into doubtlessly racist policing practices throughout the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi.

In April, 5 deputies from Rankin County had been sentenced to jail for violating the civil rights of two Black males. Self-styled because the Goon Squad, the 5 white deputies beat and tortured Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker throughout a no-warrant house 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 mentioned at a information convention in Washington. “Our investigation will answer that question.”

Clarke mentioned the division will examine whether or not deputies within the sheriff’s workplace follow extreme pressure, illegal visitors stops, searches and arrests together with racially discriminatory policing practices.

The Justice Department has initiated a number of investigations into legislation enforcement departments throughout the nation over the past 4 years, together with in Louisville, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee; and Phoenix. Earlier this yr, the division launched an investigation into the police division in Lexington, Mississippi, a city 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,” mentioned Clarke, who leads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

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

Elward shot Jenkins within the mouth after officers kicked a door open of their house and shouted racial slurs at them whereas concurrently punching and kicking the 2 males. The officers additionally sexually assaulted Jenkins and Terrell with a intercourse toy. The Justice Department mentioned all six officers entered the house of Jenkins and Parker with none possible trigger.

Jenkins and Parker filed a $400 million civil lawsuit in opposition to Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, alleging he was complicit within the actions of the officers concerned. In May, one other lawsuit was filed in opposition to Dedmon, alleging he tortured a Black man with a police canine.

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