Mississippi Torture Case: Fourth Former Police Officer Receives Sentencing
A former Mississippi police officer, Christian Dedmon, aged 29, has been handed a 40-year prison sentence for his involvement in the brutal torture of two black men in a house. Dedmon is one of six officers who were found guilty in connection to the assault that occurred on January 24, 2023. The attack involved the victims, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, being subjected to beatings, stun gun shocks, and sexual assaults by the officers.
During the court proceedings, Michael Jenkins, in a statement relayed by his lawyer, described Dedmon as the most reprehensible among the assailants. Jenkins recounted how Dedmon had planted drugs on him in an attempt to frame him and highlighted the lasting trauma he suffered, including difficulty in speaking due to being shot in the mouth during a mock execution.
The incident took place in Braxton, Rankin County, after police responded to a call reporting suspicious behavior involving black men at a white woman’s residence. Despite lacking a warrant, the officers forcibly entered the house and subjected Jenkins and Parker to racial slurs, beatings, and humiliation over the course of an hour-and-a-half.
US District Judge Tom Lee condemned Dedmon’s actions as among the most “shocking, brutal, and cruel” attacks imaginable, not only against the two black men but also against another white man during a separate traffic stop weeks earlier.
In addition to Dedmon’s sentencing, another former officer, Daniel Opdyke, was handed a 17.5-year prison term. Two other ex-officers, Brett McAlpin and Joshua Hartfield, are awaiting sentencing.
All six former officers, who dubbed themselves the “Goon Squad,” were white and served in either the Rankin County sheriff’s office or the Richland police department. The defendants pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges in August, including conspiracy against rights, obstruction of justice, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm under a crime of violence, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Meanwhile, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, under whose jurisdiction the officers served, faces a separate lawsuit amounting to $400 million for alleged failure to adequately train and supervise the officers. The sentencing and legal proceedings underscore the severity of the crimes committed and the ongoing efforts to seek justice for the victims.
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