Six white police officers in Mississippi have been sentenced to prison after a court found them guilty of
brutally torturing two Black men in January 2023. And apparently, these officers and their comrades had been
torturing people in similar ways for upwards of 20 years.The court case exposed the chilling details of how the six men intentionally set about on a campaign of
racially-motivated terror that involved beatings, Taser shockings, torture, sexual assault, a mock execution – and shooting one of the victims, Michael Jenkins, directly in the mouth, breaking his jaw.And evidence shows that their Sheriff, Bryan Bailey, and his supervisors knew about it. Some supervisors even participated in the violence.
This is clearly not a case of a few "bad apples" acting up. State and federal prosecutors must hold the Rankin County Sheriff's Department and its leadership accountable. Sign the petition!It all began when the so-called "Goon Squad" illegally raided a residence – without a warrant. Then they handcuffed Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins, the two Black men they found there, and began abusing them for an hour and a half. After the officers had tortured and violated the men,
they left Jenkins bleeding on the floor, planted a gun at the scene of their crime, and devised a story to cover up their actions.As Parker, one of the victims, said: "That night, I saw the devil come to me. I saw the devil in my face, in my home, where I was supposed to be safe. What did I do to get this? Nothing."
It turns out that Parker and Jenkins weren't these officers' only victims. Evidence shows that they spent decades bursting into people's homes in the dead of night, sexually assaulting, torturing, choking and beating them. In at least two different cases, the officers beat victims so badly,
they left the walls and floors of victims' homes covered in blood.The Sheriff of Rankin County, Mississippi has since tried to say he was shocked to learn of these abuses, but that's quite simply a lie. A New York Times and Mississippi Today investigation shows that
the Sheriff had been intentionally ignoring or burying evidence against his officers for upwards of 20 years. At least 20 deputies either participated in or witnessed these violent terrorizing acts. According to one attorney, "When a new officer starts to work over there [at the department], they start indoctrinating." And Sheriff Bryan Bailey knew.
All six defendants pled guilty to the crimes they committed against Parker and Jenkins, and will spend many years in prison.
But what about Bryan Bailey and the rest of his supervisors? Every single person involved in this rotten chain of corruption and terror must be held accountable. The FBI and Department of Justice worked together to bring the six members of the "Goon Squad" to justice. Now they must do the same with Sheriff Bailey and anyone else who aided these crimes. Sign the petition!