Mississippi man files lawsuit alleging he was beaten by a member of the ‘Goon Squad’ and others
By Devon M. Sayers and Jade Gordon, CNN
(CNN) — A Mississippi man has come forward saying he was beaten by a known member of the “Goon Squad” and other law enforcement officers, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleges Brett McAlpin – a former Rankin County deputy and a member of the “Goon Squad” who is serving 27 years in prison for brutalizing two Black men – as well as Deputy Ricky Davis and seven unidentified deputies and trustees beat Christopher Mack for 45 minutes while he was in their custody at the Rankin County Jail. Rankin County is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Mack was transported to the jail on May 27, 2021, after being arrested in the city of Pearl, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleges McAlpin, along with another deputy, tried to interrogate Mack about “information he had about drugs and gangs.”
“Mack exercised his Constitutional right to remain silent,” the lawsuit said.
Mack was then hit “in the back of the head with a set of heavy steel jail keys,” by a deputy who was not fully identified, according to the filing. McAlpin then joined the deputy and Ricky Davis in beating Mack.
According to the lawsuit, after the three deputies beat Mack, he “was then dragged by the officers into Central Pod 6 where six unknown officers, and/or trustees … beat Mack for forty-five minutes.”
As a result of the beating, Mack says he sustained broken ribs, a broken nose and was throwing up blood. Photos of the purported injuries were also part of the court filing.
“Once Mack was released from the hospital (Rankin County) Sheriff Bryan Bailey asked Mack ‘Who did that to you?’ Mack responded, ‘some of your other deputies and trusties.’ Sheriff Bailey replied, ‘F*ck!!’ and walked off,” according to the lawsuit.
McAlpin was the highest ranking of six law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty in 2023 to beating and torturing two black men, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker. McAlpin and the others, who had previously worked for the Rankin County Sheriff’s department, were part of a group that called themselves the “Goon Squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force and not report it, according to a federal charging document.
McAlpin is incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution McDowell in southern West Virginia for the incident involving Jenkins and Parker. He is appealing his sentence, according to court filings.
During the sentencing, federal prosecutors compared McAlpin to a “mafia don,” saying, “Without McAlpin, ‘the Goon Squad’ would not exist. He was the one calling the shots.”
None of those named in the civil lawsuit have been criminally charged with beating Mack.
An attorney for Rankin County declined to comment on the allegations.
CNN has reached out to the attorney for the sheriff’s department about the lawsuit and the incident involving Mack but has not received any comment.
CNN has been unsuccessful in attempts to reach those fully identified in lawsuit.
CNN also reached out to the office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Todd W. Gee, the prosecutors who secured the pleas against the “Goon Squad.” The state attorney general did not respond, and Gee declined to comment.
The-CNN-Wire
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