Justice Department launches probe into Rankin County’s policing practices

The Justice Department announced Thursday that it had expanded its investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department where a self-described “Goon Squad” of deputies has been accused of torturing people for nearly two decades.

Investigators will seek to determine if the suburban Mississippi sheriff’s department engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional policing through widespread violence, illegal searches and arrests or other discriminatory practices.

“Since the Goon Squad’s sickening acts came to light, we have received reports of other instances where Rankin deputies overused Tasers, entered homes unlawfully, bandied about shocking racial slurs, and deployed dangerous, cruel tactics to assault people in their custody,” Kristen Clark, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department, said during a press conference.

Rankin County came to national attention last year after deputies, some from the Goon Squad, tortured two Black men in their home and shot one of them, nearly killing him. Six officers pleaded guilty and were sentenced to federal prison in March.

An investigation by The New York Times and Mississippi Today later revealed that nearly two dozen residents experienced similar brutality over two decades when Rankin deputies burst into their homes looking for illegal drugs.

During the press conference Thursday, Todd Gee, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, noted that journalists “have compiled harrowing” details of torture and abuse of Rankin County citizens.

He also recalled hearing first-hand accounts of alleged abuse from “men and women, old and young alike,” during community meetings in Rankin County.

“If the Justice Department determines this is a pattern or practice, we will seek remedies,” Gee said.

In a statement on Facebook, the sheriff’s office wrote that it would “fully cooperate with all aspects of this investigation, while also welcoming DOJ’s input into our updated policies and practices.”

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey has sought to distance himself from the brutality of his deputies, saying he was never aware of any of these acts.

But some of the deputies who pleaded guilty said during their sentencing hearings that they were rewarded for their use of violence or that they modeled their behavior on those who supervised them.

In some cases, residents who accused deputies of violence filed lawsuits or said they lodged complaints with the department. 

The Times and Mississippi Today identified 20 deputies who were present at one or more of the incidents. They included several high-ranking officials: an undersheriff, detectives and a deputy who became a local police chief.

The investigation marks the 12th pattern or practice investigation into law enforcement misconduct by the current administration. Justice Department officials said previous investigations in other cities were followed by a reduction in use of force by the local officers.

Trent Walker, the lawyer for Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins, said his clients are “exceedingly happy” about the investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department and hope the department is held to account “for its long and storied history of brutality, discriminatory policy and excessive force.”