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<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong>Six former Mississippi cops known as &#8216;The Goon Squad&#8217; Monday pled guilty to torturing and abusing two black men during raid on their home </strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong>Five Rankin County Sheriff&#8217;s Office deputies and a Richland Police cop earlier pled guilty to a connected civil case</strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong>Lieutenant Jeffrey Middleton is the alleged leader of the group, with his coin embossed with &#8216;Lt Middleton&#8217;s Goon Squad&#8217;. </strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong>In January, the rogue officers entered a property in Mississippi without a warrant, and handcuffed <strong>Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker</strong> before assaulting them </strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong>It only stopped when <strong>Hunter Elward <strong><strong> placed the barrel of a gun in Jenkins&#8217; mouth, fired and the bullet exited behind one of his ears</strong></strong></strong></strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong><strong><strong><strong>The officers then plotted a coverup, planting drugs and a gun on the victims</strong></strong></strong></strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong><strong>Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Daniel Opdyke and Joshua Hartfield, were all charged in relation to the assault of Jenkins and Parker </strong></strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong><strong>The six officers were charged with a combined 13 felonies in connection with &#8216;the torture and physical abuse&#8217; of the two men that night, </strong> </strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong>Jenkins and Parker had filed a federal lawsuit in June, seeking $400million in damages </strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color" style="color:#1f1818;font-size:14px"><strong>All of the officers have since admitted both state and federal charges in the case </strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Top-L-R-Brett-McAlpin-Jeffrey-Middleton-and-Christian-Dedmon.-Bottom-L-R-Hunter-Elward-Daniel-Opdyke-and-Joshua-Hartfield-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-446993" style="width:839px;height:478px" width="839" height="478"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Former officers [Top L-R], Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, Christian Dedmon. [Bottom L-R] Hunter Elward, Daniel Opdyke, Joshua Hartfield, were all charged in relation to the assault of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker</strong></p>



<p>Six former Mississippi law enforcement officers have all guilty to charges accusing them of torturing and abusing two black men during a raid.<br>Members of the self-called &#8216;Goon Squad&#8217; mostly drawn from the Ranking County Sheriff&#8217;s office, each carried a coin with the name emblazoned on one side and the other with Rankin County Sheriff&#8217;s Office&#8217;s badge. <br>Lieutenant Jeffrey Middleton appeared to be the ringleader of the group, with his coin embossed with &#8216;Lt Middleton&#8217;s Goon Squad&#8217;. <br>Five other deputies for the Sheriff&#8217;s Office, and one from the Richland Police Department, have been charged with conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Goon-Squad-coin-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447007" style="width:838px;height:444px" width="838" height="444"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Members of the Rankin County &#8216;Goon Squad&#8217; of law enforcement officers carried a coin to show that they were part of the sick group. Pictured: Lt Middleton&#8217;s coin</strong></p>



<p>Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, and ex-police officer Joshua Hartfield, were all charged in relation to the assault of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker in January. <br>Hunter Elward was charged with home invasion and aggravated assault for shoving a gun in the mouth of Jenkins and pulling the trigger &#8211; in what prosecutors called a &#8216;mock execution&#8217;.<br>They are accused of assaulting them with sex toys, firearms, stun guns, milk, eggs, alcohol and chocolate syrup on January 24. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Michael-Corey-Jenkins-left-and-Eddie-Terrell-Parker-right-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-446997" style="width:847px;height:531px" width="847" height="531"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>The victims Michael Corey Jenkins [left] and Eddie Terrell Parker [right], filed a federal lawsuit in June and are seeking $400million in damages</strong></p>



<p>The cops are potentially facing a maximum combined sentence of 641 years and two life sentences in prison for state and federal charges, as well as a combined $12.25 million in fines. They will be sentenced in November by a federal judge.<br>Dedmon was charged with home invasion after kicking in a door, with McAlpin, Middleton, Opdyke and Hartfield each facing an additional charge of first-degree obstruction of justice.<br>Former Lieutenant Jeffrey Middleton admitted in court that he was convicted of vehicular manslaughter in 2007 for hitting and killing a man. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Michael-Corey-Jenkins-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447004"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Michael Corey Jenkins stared down his attackers after arriving together in court, sitting in the front row just feet away from their attackers&#8217; families</strong></p>



<p>Prosecutors say that some of the officers nicknamed themselves the &#8216;Goon Squad&#8217; because of their willingness to use excessive force and cover it up.<br>They victims were targeted after a white neighbor complained that two black men were staying at the home with a white woman. <br>Parker was a childhood friend of the homeowner, Kristi Walley, who has been paralyzed since she was 15 &#8211; and he was helping to care for her. <br>All of the officers have pled guilty to the state charges on Monday. Earlier in the month, the six one-time law enforcement officers also pled guilty in a connected federal civil rights case. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Michael-Corey-Jenkins-in-hospital-4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447006" style="width:798px;height:1036px" width="798" height="1036"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>They are accused of assaulting them with sex toys, firearms, stun guns, milk, eggs, alcohol and chocolate syrup. Pictured: Michael Corey Jenkins </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Michael-Corey-Jenkins-right-and-Eddie-Terrell-Parker-left-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447000" style="width:844px;height:397px" width="844" height="397"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Court documents say officers warned Michael Corey Parker (left) and and Eddie Terrell Parker [right],<strong> </strong>to &#8216;go back to Jackson or &#8216;their side&#8217; of the Pearl River&#8217;</strong></p>



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</div><figcaption><strong> Six white Mississippi sheriff&#8217;s deputies fired for &#8216;torturing&#8217; two Black men</strong></figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bryan-Bailey-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-446990" style="width:844px;height:383px" width="844" height="383"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Ranking County sheriff, Bryan Bailey, announces that six white deputies fired for &#8216;torturing&#8217; two Black men and fabricating a cover up</strong></p>



<p>In January, the rogue officers entered a property in Mississippi without a warrant, and handcuffed Jenkins and Parker before assaulting them. <br>The brutal attack included beating included the use of a stun gun as well as sex toys and other objects. <br>McAlpin was informed of the alleged break-in by the two men, and asked Demon to investigate.<br>He then sent a message to officers in the &#8216;Goon Squad&#8217; saying: &#8216;Are y&#8217;all available for a mission?&#8217;<br>He added that they might have to &#8216;work easy&#8217; &#8211; meaning he was advising to knock on the door rather than kick it down because of security cameras on the property. <br>Patrol deputy Daniel Opdyke texted back a gif of a baby crying, with officers kicking in the back doors of the house which were not surrounded by cameras. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Jeffrey-Middleton-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447015" style="width:825px;height:947px" width="825" height="947"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Former Rankin County sheriff&#8217;s deputy Jeffrey Middleton appears at the Rankin County Chancery Court in Brandon</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Christian-Dedmon-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447016" style="width:842px;height:635px" width="842" height="635"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>The victims stared down their attackers including <strong>Christian Dedmon [photo] </strong>after arriving together in court, sitting in the front row just feet away from their attackers families</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Brett-McAlpin-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447034" style="width:828px;height:871px" width="828" height="871"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Prosecutors claim Brett McAlpin, and the other five officers then plotted a coverup, planting drugs and a gun, which initially led to false charges</strong></p>



<p>Dedmon asked the men where their drugs were, and when the victims denied having any narcotics, he shot a bullet into the wall, demanding that they confess. <br>Officials say that they mocked them with racial slurs, including &#8216;n*****&#8217; and &#8216;monkey&#8217;, following a 90-minute torture session. <br>Opdyke found a dildo in one of the bedrooms, which he gave to Dedmon, who used it to slap the men before threatening to rape Jenkins with it.<br>They threw food items at them as they lay on the floor, and forced them to strip naked and shower to get rid of any evidence. <br>Both men were beaten with objects around the home, including a piece of wood, a kitchen utensil and a metal sword. They were also tasered, repeatedly.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Jeffrey-Middleton-right-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447019" style="width:842px;height:540px" width="842" height="540"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Lt Jeffrey Middleton appeared to be the leader of the &#8216;Goon Squad&#8217;, with his coin embossed with &#8216;Lt Middleton&#8217;s Goon Squad&#8217;. The six officers were charged with a combined 13 felonies in connection with &#8216;the torture and physical abuse&#8217; of the two men that night, the Justice Dept. said in a news release</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Michael-Corey-Jenkins-6.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447018" style="width:838px;height:542px" width="838" height="542"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Court documents show that the sickening episode only ended after Elward shot Jenkins (pictured) in the mouth </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Hunter-Edward-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447017" style="width:840px;height:614px" width="840" height="614"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Hunter Elward, [photo], shot Corey Jenkins. The sick cops repeatedly used their stun guns on the pair in a twisted competition to see which department&#8217;s weapons were more powerful</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Daniel-Opdyke-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447027" style="width:839px;height:539px" width="839" height="539"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Former Rankin County sheriff&#8217;s deputy Daniel Opdyke [photo],is one of the former law enforcement officers. who US Attorney General Merrick Garland said &#8216;egregiously violated the civil rights of citizens who they were supposed to protect&#8217;. They are facing at least five years in jail &#8211; not including federal court decisions </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Joshua-Hartfield-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447026" style="width:843px;height:626px" width="843" height="626"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Former Richland Police officer Joshua Hartfield pleaded guilty to the charges on August 14 along with his five other accused law enforcement officers </strong></p>



<p>Prosecutors claim that after the atrocious acts, the law enforcement officers then plotted a coverup, planting drugs and a gun on the victims.<br>Middleton planted a gun he kept in his car in the home, while Dedmon took meth from a previous drug bust and said it belonged to Jenkins.<br>The officers disposed of any shell casings they could find and threw the men’s clothes into the woods behind the house.<br>A hard drive from the home’s surveillance system and later thrown into a creek in Florence, with McAlpin and Middleton, the two highest ranking officers, threatening to kill the other deputies if they said anything.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-39.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447036" style="width:838px;height:613px" width="838" height="613"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong><strong>A deputy placed the barrel of a gun in Jenkins&#8217; mouth, fired and the bullet exited behind one of his ears. Jenkins [photo], still has difficulty speaking because of his injuries, with the gunshot lacerating his tongue and breaking his jaw before exiting behind his ear. </strong></strong></p>



<p>Jenkins was charged with disorderly conduct, assaulting an officer and drug possession, while Parker was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct. All charges were later dismissed.<br>Elward signed an affidavit, claiming Jenkins had shot at him and the other officers filed false police reports and lied to investigators from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to back up the claims.<br>But their lies unraveled after one deputy admitted lying to the sheriff, who launched a probe into the incident. <br>All of the officers confessed to the conspiracy following an investigation, with state prosecutors advising that they are handed between five to 15 years in prison.<br>Time served for the state charges will run concurrently with federal sentences they are scheduled to receive in November.<br>Court documents say officers warned Jenkins and Parker to &#8216;go back to Jackson or &#8216;their side&#8217; of the Pearl River.&#8217;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Kristen-Clarke-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447013" style="width:820px;height:1179px" width="820" height="1179"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department&#8217;s Civil Rights Division, says the Justice Department is still investigating the January raid that led to the shooting of Michael Corey Jenkins by Mississippi sheriff&#8217;s deputies</strong></p>



<p>Attorneys for Opdyke said the former officer &#8216;has admitted to his wrongdoing&#8217;, adding: &#8216;He takes responsibility for his part in the horrific harms perpetrated on Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Parker, the victims, and is prepared to face the consequences of his misconduct.&#8217;<br>Both men filed a federal lawsuit in June, claiming that the officers illegally entered their home and handcuffed, kicked, waterboarded and tasered them and attempted to sexually assault them. They are seeking $400million in damages. <br>The six officers were charged with a combined 13 felonies in connection with &#8216;the torture and physical abuse&#8217; of the two men that night, the Justice Department said in a news release.<br>Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey announced in June deputies had been fired, with Richland Police Department said in July that Hartfield – who was off-duty at the time of the alleged assault – had resigned. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-40.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447037" style="width:841px;height:617px" width="841" height="617"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Protesters demand justice for Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker </strong></p>



<p>Kristi Walley, whose home the men were in, said in February of Parker: &#8216;He&#8217;s a blessing. <br>&#8216;Every time I&#8217;ve needed him he&#8217;s been here. There were times I&#8217;ve been living here by myself and I didn&#8217;t know what I was going to do.&#8217; <br>Jenkins still has difficulty speaking because of his injuries, with the gunshot lacerating his tongue and breaking his jaw before exiting behind his ear.<br>Both men have fled Mississippi but returned on Monday for the court hearing, with Jenkins saying after the hearing: &#8216;As far as justice, I knew we were going to get it. But I thought it was maybe going to take longer.&#8217;<br>Parker added: &#8216;With a little fight, with a lot of fight, you can come out with the truth. And the truth always prevails over any lie or story you make up.&#8217;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Michael-Corey-Jenkins-right-with-his-mother-Mary-Jenkins-second-left-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447010" style="width:842px;height:628px" width="842" height="628"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Michael Jenkins, second from right, stands with his mother, Mary Jenkins, center, and their attorneys in February following his release from the hospital after being shot by sheriff&#8217;s </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Michael-Corey-Jenkins-4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-447011" style="width:841px;height:455px" width="841" height="455"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Jenkins, [photo], and Parker have also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit and are seeking $400 million in damages</strong></p>



<p><br>This wasn&#8217;t the only instance of the groups cynically attempting to get away with the shocking episode.<br>Documents revealed that the twisted cops agreed to enter the Braxton property without a warrant as long as they could avoid being spotted by security cameras.<br>On top of this, they planned to use excessive force on the two men as long as they avoided injuring their heads so there would be &#8216;no bad mugshots&#8217;.<br>Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, who said he first learned about what happened after he read unsealed court documents, condemned his former employees, saying:<br>&#8216;This is the most horrible incident of police brutality I&#8217;ve learned of over my whole career, and I&#8217;m ashamed it happened at this department.&#8217;<br>US Attorney General Merrick Garland accused the men of &#8216;egregiously violating the civil rights of citizens who they were supposed to protect.&#8217;<br>Meanwhile, US Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Darren LaMarca said: &#8216;They became the criminals they swore to protect us from. Now, they&#8217;ll be treated as the criminals as they are.&#8217;</p>

Six ex-Mississippi cops plead guilty to torturing and abusing two black men during raid, face combined sentence of 641 years and two life sentences for state and federal charges, and a combined $12.25 million in fines
