Officials and attorneys speak after Mississippi ex-officers plead guilty. What they said

United States Assistant Attorney General Kristin Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on Thursday afternoon praised efforts by Justice officials, the FBI, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Mississippi Attorney General for their efforts leading to the arrest of six former Rankin County law enforcement officers.

The six officers had only hours earlier entered guilty pleas before United States District Judge Tom S. Lee stemming from a Jan. 24 incident where they were charged with illegally assaulting and brutalizing two black men at a home in Braxton.

Speaking electronically from Washington, Clarke told reporters assembled at the Thad Cochran federal courthouse in Jackson that actions by the officers represent a “horrific and stark example of police misconduct.” The actions “caused harm to the entire community … fueled by racial bias and hatred,” she said.

Clarke was joined by U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby, Mississippi Assistant Attorney General Mary Helen Wall and others.

LaMarca said the guilty pleas resulted from a six-month investigation, and he thanked numerous officials and agencies for their cooperation leading to the arrests.

Court documents report that the officers, all white, burst into the home on Connerly Road without a warrant, then handcuffed and repeatedly used tasers on two Black men, who are identified in a separate civil lawsuit as Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker.

The two men were also kicked and humiliated as officers proceeded to pour milk, chocolate syrup, alcohol and other liquids on their bodies, according to records.

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Officers also attempted to sexually assault both men with a sex object found at the home and Jenkins was shot with a Glock 9mm pistol held directly into his mouth by one of the officers. The bullet lacerated Jenkins’ tongue, broke his jaw and exited from the back of his neck, causing serious bodily damage.

Despite the injury, the documents also charge the officers failed to expeditiously seek medical treatment for Jenkins and instead attempted to cover up the incident by tampering with and destroying evidence, lying to investigators, and planting drugs and a BB gun to try and incriminate the men for crimes they did not commit.

The incident resulted from a neighbor’s complaint that the Black men were staying at the home which is owned by a white woman. Officers reportedly used racial slurs and told Jenkins and Parker they better “stay out of Rankin County” and “go back across the river to Jackson” which is majority Black.

Court documents detail some of the deputies involved as being part of what was informally called the sheriff department’s “Goon Squad.”

The six men pleading guilty:

• Brett McAlpin, 52, of Braxton, former chief investigator for the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, charged with five counts related to deprivation of civil rights and two counts related to obstruction of justice.

• Jeffrey Middleton, 45, of Florence, former lieutenant with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, charged with four counts related to deprivation of civil rights and two counts related to obstruction of justice.

• Christian Dedmon, 28, of Pearl, former narcotics investigator with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, charged with eight counts related to deprivation of civil rights.

• Hunter Elward, 31, of Florence, former patrol deputy with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, charged with eight counts related to deprivation of civil rights, two counts related to obstruction of justice and one count related to an illegal assault with and discharge of a gun resulting in severe bodily damage.

• Daniel Opdyke, 27, of Florence, former patrol deputy with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, charged with six counts related to deprivation of civil rights and two counts related to obstruction of justice.

• Joshua Hartfield, 31, of Richland, former narcotics investigator with the Richland Police Department, charged with four counts related to deprivation of civil rights and two counts related to obstruction of justice.

The civil rights counts each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years incarceration and a $250,000 penalty. The obstruction of justice counts each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years incarceration and a $250,000 penalty.

The gun assault charge faced by Elward, who is the deputy identified as pulling the trigger in Jenkins’ mouth, carries a minimum 10-year incarceration with a maximum of life and a $250,000 fine.

Reports say Elward pulled the trigger twice inside Jenkins’ mouth in an attempt to scare him but that the gun did not fire the first time.

Opdyke and Dedmon are identified as the deputies who assaulted the two men with the sex object.

Judge Lee accepted the guilty pleas individually from each defendant during a nearly six-hour proceeding that included lengthy questions over whether the men had been mentally impaired, knew “right from wrong” at the time of the incident, had been provided adequate legal counsel and were voluntarily waiving their right to a trial by jury without undue influence or coercion.

Sentencing is expected on Nov. 14, 15 and 16, the judge stated.

In a separate hearing Elward, Dedmon and Opdyke also entered guilty pleas over additional counts resulting from a brutality case involving white suspects in 2022.

FBI Agent Fomby, speaking at the press conference after the hearing, described the investigative process leading to the arrests as “a long and difficult road.” He expressed gratitude that for the families of Parker and Jenkins “there is some justice.”

Assistant Mississippi AG Wall also hailed the investigation but cautioned people to remember that not all police officers are corrupt.

“These men are not the rule, they are the exception,” Wall said, expressing confidence that most Mississippi law enforcement officers take seriously their oath to serve and protect all citizens.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch also released a statement following Thursday’s court proceedings, promising that state charges would soon be following.

“Without a relationship of trust between law enforcement officers and those they swear to serve and protect, our fight for justice and against crime is doomed to fail,” Fitch stated. “This brutal attack caused more than physical harm to these two individual victims; it severed that vital trust with the people. This abuse of power will not be tolerated. The Attorney General’s Office is committed to delivering justice for these victims and for all Mississippians."

The federal charges came after an Associated Press investigation linked deputies involved in the episode to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries.

The United States Justice Department in February launched the civil rights probe into allegations levied by Jenkins and Parker.

Trent Walker, one of the attorneys representing the families of Jenkins and Parker in a separate $400 million civil rights lawsuit filed against the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, was among the people closely following Thursday’s court hearing.

He said he was “very happy to see justice being done” and expressed gratitude to U.S. Attorney Erin Chalk, who served as the lead federal attorney presenting the government’s case against the six men.

“I feel a great sense of vindication,” Walker said.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey announced on June 27 that all five deputies involved had been fired or resigned. Hartfield, who was off duty at the time of the incident, was also subsequently fired from the Richland Police Department.

Following Thursday’s guilty pleas Bailey issued a statement saying the five deputies under his command had “lied to me the night of the incident.” He further stated that the department has “cooperated fully with all outside investigative agencies to uncover the truth and bring justice to the victims.”

He called the crimes “devastating not only to the victims but also to the sheriff’s office and the hundreds of men and women that work here.”

— Michael Goldberg, a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative contributed to this report. 

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: What was said after Mississippi ex-officers pleaded guilty