Rankin County sheriff apologizes to victims after former deputies plead guilty

By Kennedi Cooper

Click here for updates on this story

    JACKSON, Mississippi (WAPT) — After five former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies pleaded guilty to federal charges connected to the brutal assault of two Black men, Sheriff Bryan Bailey apologized to the victims.

“I am sick to my stomach. I have 120 other deputies. I have tried to build a reputation for the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, and they have robbed me of all this. By the actions of these few, this is the perfect example of why people don’t trust the police, and never would I have thought it would happen in this department,” Bailey said. “I promise I’m going to do my best to fix it.

Former deputies Brett Morris McAlpin, Jefferey Middleton, Christian Dedmond, Hunter Elward and Daniel Opdyke, along with Richland ex-officer Joshua Hartfield, entered guilty pleas Thursday in the torture and beating of Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins. Jenkins was also shot in the mouth during the January attack that went on for nearly two hours at a home in Braxton.

“They appear to be six of the dumbest cops in the history of Mississippi,” said civil rights activist John Barnett. “This was a criminal plan orchestrated, and the bottom fell out of it. These guys couldn’t put a criminal act together if they tried to, and it’s probably based on their education.”

According to court documents, the former law enforcement officers, who called themselves, “The Goon Squad,” used stun guns on the two men, waterboarded them, threatened to rape them and beat them with pieces of wood. After Jenkins was shot in the mouth, they left him on the floor bleeding with no medical treatment while they devised a cover story.

All six now face state charges. They will be sentenced on the federal charges in November.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.