The former white officers are now a group of six. Mississippi The prosecutors stated that the defendants pleaded guilty for civil rights violations committed during an illegal raid at a house where two Black men had been tortured, beaten and shocked repeatedly with Tasers.
Five of the men worked as deputies in the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office. Another officer was with Richland Police Department. The two agencies are located near Jackson, which is the capital of Mississippi.
Michael Jenkins and Eddie Terrell were the first two to be fired. A $400 Million Federal Civil Suit was filed The white men allegedly broke into their homes without a court order, beat the women, strip them naked, assaulted with a dildo, and shot one in the face.
They said the violence continued for almost two hours. While they were being attacked, the white officers repeatedly called them “monkeys” and “n*****s,” the Black men said.
Authorities confirmed that the allegations had been investigated by the U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division.
Deputies Hunter Elward (31), Christian Dedmon (28), Brett McAlpin (52) Jeffrey Middleton (46) and Daniel Opdyke (27) were named. Theformer Richland Police OfficerJoshua Hartfield was born on 31st December.
“The defendants in this case tortured and inflicted unspeakable harm on their victims (and) egregiously violated the civil rights of citizens who they were supposed to protect,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Three of the white officers referred to themselves as members of the “Goon Squad” for their “willingness to use excessive force and not to report it,” according to the federal complaint.
Six white men appeared Thursday in federal court and pleaded to guilty on 16 federal felonies, including civil right conspiracy, discharge a gun during a violent crime, deprivation under color of the law, conspiracy against justice, and obstruction of justice.
In January of this year, an officer received a complaint from his neighbour about “suspicious behaviour” in a residence where Black men stayed, according to the federal lawsuit.
“Are y’all available for a mission?” one of the deputies texted to the others, according to the complaint.
The men broke into the home without a valid warrant that night.
Deputies on duty and police off duty The following are the relevant authorities said.
The two Black men were subjected to “an horrific and stark instance of police misconduct that has no place today in our society,” stated federal prosecutor Kristen Clarke during a press conference on Thursday.
The State has filed criminal charges against six of the men.
The Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced on Thursday that her office had charged these men with home invasion, aggravated assault and obstruction of justice.
Fitch declared that such abuses of power “will not be tolerable.” Federal prosecutors have said that the men will likely plead guilty on August 14, to these charges.
Six officers then poured alcohol, chocolate syrup and milk over the faces and mouths of the two Black males. Elward then pushed a pistol into Jenkins’ and fired it, breaking his tongue and jaw.
Government officials claim that the officers used drugs to hide their crimes.
Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said he was “ashamed” of his former deputies after they pleaded guilty Thursday.
“These guys were so far past any boundary. It is unbelievable what they did,” Bailey told reporters. “This is a bunch of criminals that did a home invasion,” the sheriff said.
“All of the former deputies lied to me, that night of this incident,” the sheriff said. “I am sick to my stomach. I tried to get a decent reputation. These few have stolen all this from me.
“This is a perfect example of why people don’t trust the police,” Bailey said. “Never in my life did I think this would happen in this department.”
Dedmon Elward, and Opdyke pleaded also guilty to three federal counts of felony in connection with a separate event that took place on December 4, 2004. Dedmon, Elward, and Opdyke also pleaded guilty to three federal felony counts in connection to a separate incident that occurred on Dec. 4.
According to U.S. district judge Tom Lee, the six men are scheduled for sentencing in November. They face sentences of up to 120 years and fines in the millions.