Former Mississippi Officers Plead Guilty To Torturing 2 Black Men

Six former Mississippi police officers, who had dubbed themselves the “Good Squad,” pleaded guilty today to torturing two Black men for hours in a racial assault in January. From ABC News:

In January, the officers entered a house without a warrant and handcuffed and assaulted the two men with stun guns, a sex toy and other objects.

The officers mocked them with racial slurs throughout a 90-minute torture session, then devised a cover-up that included planting drugs and a gun, leading to false charges that stood against the victims for months.

Their conspiracy unraveled after one of the officers told the sheriff he had lied, leading to confessions from the others.

The charges against the victims weren’t dropped until June, after federal and state investigators got involved, according to their attorney.

https://twitter.com/ABCWorldNews/status/1691167450698518528 The men include five former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies — Brett McAlpin, Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke — and a former police officer from the city of Richland, Joshua Hartfield. All six were charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to hinder prosecution. The two officers who kicked in the front door of the home, Dedmon and Elward, also copped to home invasion. Additionally, Elward pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, for a “mock execution” wherein he shoved a gun into the mouth of one of the victims and pulled the trigger. https://twitter.com/AP/status/1691112012154081280 While the two victims — Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker — have left Mississippi, they were present at today’s hearing. Due to his injuries, Jenkins still has trouble speaking. The gunshot by Elward reportedly ripped through his tongue and broke his jaw. In addition to recurring nightmares, he can only eat soft foods. Related: Mississippi White Woman Pulls A Gun On Black Couple Having Picnic At Lake According to charging documents, Parker and Jenkins were targeted because a white neighbor complained of two Black men living with a disabled white woman. Parker has known the homeowner, Kristi Walley, since they were teenagers. She was paralyzed at the age of 15 and Parker had been caring for her. The officers reportedly told Jenkins and Parker to “go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River.” https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/1691112504502738944