The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department has cleaned house after Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker said they were shot and sexually assaulted in a January 2023 home raid by deputy sheriffs in a Jackson, Mississippi, residence.
Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey announced on June 27, 2023, that the deputies involved in the episode had been fired and some had already resigned. Bailey would not provide the names of the deputies who had been terminated or say how many law enforcement officers were fired.
“Due to recent developments, including findings during our internal investigation, those deputies that were still employed by this department have all been terminated,” Bailey said.
The Black community has been left defenseless against police brutality too many times. Decades before the murder of George Floyd, trust between the Black community and police officers was already extremely broken.
“We understand that the alleged actions of these deputies has eroded the public’s trust in the department. Rest assured that we will work diligently to restore that trust,” Bailey said, according to the Associated Press.
The incident took place on January 24, 2023, in Parker’s home. A total of six officers, who entered without a warrant, were present.
The Associated Press identified one deputy as Christian Dedmon from police records. Another deputy, identified as Hunter Elward, reportedly shot Jenkins in the mouth.The two Black men filed a lawsuit for $400 million for federal civil rights violations, according to the Mississippi Free Press. Jenkins and Parker also claimed that deputies handcuffed them, repeatedly used a stun gun, and poured milk over their heads.
“This incredible, nasty, violent ordeal exposes that Rankin County deputies and the Department have had a long pattern and practice of deadly excessive force and hate crimes against its African American citizens,” said Malik Shabazz, one of the attorneys for the men.
The other officers involved were not identified by name, according to the Associated Press.