Mississippi ‘Goon Squad’ officers sentenced for torturing two black men | US News
Two former Mississippi sheriff’s deputies who were members of a group calling itself “the Goon Squad” have been given lengthy prison sentences for their involvement in torturing two black men.
Hunter Elward, 31, was sentenced to 20 years, and Jeffrey Middleton, 46, received a 17-and-a-half-year sentence during consecutive proceedings at a federal court in Jackson, Mississippi, as reported by the US Justice Department.
They were among six officers who forcibly entered a residence in Braxton, Mississippi, without a search warrant and attacked Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker using stun guns, a sex toy, and other items.
(From top left) Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, Daniel Opdyke and Joshua Hartfield. File pic: AP
This incident stemmed from a complaint to the sheriff’s office by a white neighbor about two black men staying with a white woman at the location and allegedly engaging in “suspicious behavior”.
The victims were restrained and tied up during a two-hour ordeal, resulting in Mr. Jenkins being shot in the mouth, causing a lacerated tongue and broken jaw.
Michael Corey Jenkins outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi. Pic: AP
He was shot in the mouth. Pic: AP
After entering the residence, they handcuffed Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Parker, poured milk, alcohol, and chocolate syrup on their faces, forced them to undress, and shower together to hide the evidence.
They subjected the victims to racial insults, stun gun shocks, and, in one instance, one of the deputies, Christian Dedmon, used a sex toy to further assault them.
Following Elward’s accidental shooting of Mr. Jenkins in the mouth during a “mock execution”, the officers engaged in a cover-up operation.
This cover-up involved destroying surveillance footage, attempting to burn the victims’ clothing, and planting drugs and a firearm.
Incorrect charges were pressed against the victims for several months.
Eddie Terrell Parker was one of the victims of the attack. Pic: AP
The officers warned them to “stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River”, as mentioned in court documents, referring to an area with a higher concentration of black residents.
The ex-officers, all white, referred to themselves as “the Goon Squad” due to their readiness to use excessive force, as revealed in court documents.
In a statement on Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the “heinous attack on citizens they had sworn an oath to protect”.
Prior to Elward and Middleton’s sentencing, US District Judge Tom Lee described their actions as “egregious and despicable”.
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Elward and Middleton pleaded guilty along with the other four former law enforcement officers last summer to multiple felony offenses, including civil rights conspiracy, deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice.
Daniel Opdyke, 28, and Dedmon, 29, are scheduled for separate sentencing before Judge Lee on Wednesday.
Brett McAlpin, 53, and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield, 32, will be sentenced on Thursday.
The guilty pleas made in a federal court in August were part of a broader agreement that included guilty pleas to state charges. A date for the state case sentencing has not been set yet.
The defendants will serve their federal and state sentences concurrently.
