Source: Black Lawyers for Justice / Black Lawyers for Justice
An attorney for two Black men who were allegedly tortured by Mississippi police is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to file criminal indictments for the deputies involved in the incident.
Six Rankin County deputies were accused of beating and sexually assaulting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Parker.
According to WLBT, the officers involved in what the two Black men’s lawyer is calling a racially motivated attack, have been fired or have resigned from the department.
“Due to recent developments, including findings during our internal investigation, those deputies that were still employed by this department, have all been terminated,” Sheriff Bryan Bailey said during a press conference Tuesday. “This will continue until all investigative efforts are complete and justice is served.”
Bailey also ensured the public they would work to regain the public’s trust after such a horrific situation.
“We understand that the alleged actions of the deputies have eroded the public’s trust in our department,” the sheriff told WLBT. “Rest assured… we will work diligently to restore that trust.”
Malik Shabazz, the attorney for Jenkins and Parker was content with Sheriff Bailey’s decision to fire the officers who abused his clients, but says it isn’t enough.
“The firing of the Rankin County Mississippi sheriff’s deputies involved in the torture and shooting of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker is a significant action on the path to justice for one of the worst law enforcement tragedies in recent memory, said Shabazz. “Criminal indictments of the deputies from the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi and criminal indictments by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is the next step in this tough fight for Justice in this nasty ordeal.”
Black Lawyers for Justice also called for the Mississippi deputies to be indicted.
“I have lived in Rankin County all my life. These firings are unprecedented,” said Trent Walker, local counsel for Black Lawyers for Justice. “Finally, the window to justice may possibly be opening.”
According to reports, on Jan. 24, officers Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, and Christian Dedmon as well as three others who have not been named, raided a home without a warrant which Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker occupied at the time.
Jenkins and Parker claim deputies beat them, assaulted them with a sex toy and repeatedly tased them. Jenkins also recalls one of the deputies shoving a gun in his mouth and firing the weapon. Jenkins suffered serious injuries to his face, tongue and jaw.
A witness even described the officers participating in something of a Taser contest with Jenkins and Parker being the targets, Jenkins’ mother said.
Jenkins’ mother said she was told by police that her son “displayed a gun,” which is why he was shot. But Mary Jenkins also said in a GoFundMe account she started that a witness said her son “didn’t have a gun. The witness told us that [Jenkins] was beat, tased and handcuffed while on his knees. The witness also stated that they went back and forth tasing [Jenkins and Parker] to see ‘who’s taser was the strongest.’”
A civil rights investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department has been opened by the DOJ, but no arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.
SEE ALSO:
Mississippi Cops Beat, Waterboarded Handcuffed Black Men, Shot 1 For ‘Dating White Women’: Lawyers
Family Of Ex-Cop Who Killed Cornelius McGee Calls Murder Allegations ‘A Lie’
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