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Six former law enforcement officers in Mississippi were sentenced in state court on Wednesday to 15 to 45 years in prison for their involvement in the abuse of two Black men. These sentences will be served concurrently with their federal sentences from last month, which range from 10 to 40 years. The officers, who had pleaded guilty, were involved in the torture of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker at a home in January 2023.
The five former Rankin County Sheriff’s deputies – Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Christian Dedmon, Daniel Opdyke, and Jeffrey Middleton – along with former Richland Police Department officer Joshua Hartfield, were sentenced in a Rankin County circuit court. The group of White officers raided the home in Braxton without a warrant, subjected the two Black men to racist abuse, used Tasers on them after they had been handcuffed, beat them with various objects, and one of them shot Jenkins in the mouth, according to prosecutors.
Jenkins described the ordeal he and Parker endured in a statement read by his attorney Malik Shabazz before the sentencing. He detailed the racist names they were called and how they were left bleeding on the floor after the shooting. Jenkins expressed that he felt as though he had been killed, even though he did not die.
Each of the ex-officers faced state charges of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice. Dedmon was also charged with home invasion, and Elward was additionally charged with home invasion and aggravated assault. McAlpin, Middleton, Opdyke, and Hartfield faced an additional charge of first-degree obstruction of justice.
While the state sentences will run concurrently with the federal sentences, some of the ex-officers will spend more time behind bars due to the state charges:
- Elward was sentenced in state court to 25 years in prison, to run concurrently with his federal sentence of 20 years.
- Middleton was sentenced in state court to 20 years in prison, which will run concurrently with his federal sentence of 17.5 years.
- Opdyke was sentenced in state court to 20 years in prison, to run concurrently with his federal sentence of 17.5 years.
- Hartfield was sentenced in state court to 15 years in prison, to run concurrently with his federal sentence of 10 years.
- Dedmon was sentenced in state court to 25 years in prison, to run concurrently with his federal sentence of 40 years.
- McAlpin was sentenced in state court to 20 years in prison, to run concurrently with his federal sentence of just over 27 years.
The torture occurred on January 24, 2023, in Braxton, southeast of Jackson. It came to light after the two victims filed a $400 million federal lawsuit, which is still pending. The two men said the officers illegally entered the home of a woman Parker was helping to care for, where he was also living. The officers kicked, waterboarded, and used Tasers on Jenkins and Parker, and attempted to sexually assault them over nearly two hours before Elward shot Jenkins in the mouth.
At least three of the officers – Elward, Middleton, and Opdyke – were part of a group of deputies that called themselves “The Goon Squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force and not report it, federal prosecutors said in court documents.
“This brutal attack caused more than physical harm to these two individual victims; it severed that vital trust with the people,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said when announcing the state charges. “This abuse of power will not be tolerated.”
The former officers pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy against rights, deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice, according to court records. Elward faced the most serious of the federal charges stemming from the torture – discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
After the sentencing, Jenkins and Parker expressed their satisfaction with the former officers’ sentences and felt relieved that the case was now over. They vowed to continue fighting for change in Mississippi and to be a voice for other potential victims of similar abuse.
The NAACP started a national petition to remove a 1907 Confederate monument near the courthouse where the sentencing hearing took place, symbolizing decades of racist culture in the county.
Rankin County NAACP President Angela English said this painful part of law enforcement history shouldn’t end with the sentencing of the six ex-officers and called for a comprehensive investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department.
Mary Jenkins, the mother of Michael Jenkins, expressed her happiness with the former officers' sentences and urged the community to reject such behavior. Melvin Jenkins, Michael's father, highlighted the need for change and accountability in law enforcement.
The sheriff’s department announced changes to its patrol policies and procedures after the incident. Bailey said deputies and jailers have completed training from the FBI’s Civil Rights Unit, and an internal affairs investigator had been recruited to “help foster impartiality and fairness in our reviews.”
In a statement to CNN after the sentencing, an attorney for McAlpin, who was the highest-ranking officer on the scene, said the former officer “struggles with the fact that he got sentenced to more time than individuals who shot and/or beat these men.”