Mississippi ex-deputy gets 40-year sentence as judge decries brutal attack on 2 Black men
Mississippi ex-deputy gets 40-year sentence as judge decries brutal attack on 2 Black men
FILE - This combination of photos shows, from top left, former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, Daniel Opdyke and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield appearing at the Rankin County Circuit Court in Brandon, Miss., Aug. 14, 2023. Two Black men who were tortured for hours by the six Mississippi law enforcement officers in 2023 called Monday, March 18, 2024, for a federal judge to impose the strictest possible penalties at their sentencings this week. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Eddie Terrell Parker and his aunt Linda Rawls express their joy at the 40-year prison sentence given to former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Christian Dedmon by a federal judge, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Jackson, Miss. Dedmon was sentenced for his part in the racist torture of Parker and Michael Corey Jenkins by a group of white officers who called themselves the “Goon Squad.” (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
“Now I am locking them up,” says Eddie Terrell Parker, showing off a handcuff necklace that he wears at the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Parker and Michael Corey Jenkins, was assaulted by then six Rankin County law men in 2023, witnessed the sentencing of former deputy Daniel Opdyke to 17.5 years in federal prison for his actions. Opdyke is the third of the six former officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on them and have pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Attorney Jeffery Reynolds expresses disappointment on the 17.5 years federal prison sentence his client former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke received for his role in the racially motivated, violent torture of Black two men, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Jackson, Miss. Opdyke and five other now former Rankin County law enforcement officers pleaded guilty to numerous charges on the torture of the men. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Melvin Jenkins, second from right, speaks to reporters while standing with lead civil attorney Malik Shabazz, second from left, and his son Michael Corey Jenkins, right, on the sentencing of the third of six former Rankin County law enforcement officers, who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on his son Michael and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023., while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his actions. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Lead civil attorney Malik Shabazz, second from left, speaks to reporters while his clients, Eddie Terrell Parker, left, Michael Corey Jenkins, and his father Melvin Jenkins, center, and mother Mary Jenkins, right, listen while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, following the federal court sentencing of the third of six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on Parker and Jenkins in 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Michael Corey Jenkins, left, and Eddie Terrell Parker enter the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for sentencing on the third of the six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on them in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges for torturing them and their sentencing began Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Civil co-counsel Trent Walker, center, speaks to reporters on the sentencing of the third former Rankin County law enforcement officer, while his clients, Eddie Terrell Parker, left, Michael Corey Jenkins, listen while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his role with five other now former Rankin County law enforcement officers, in the racially motivated, violent torture of Parker and Jenkins. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Michael Corey Jenkins, right, follows a friend as he enters the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for sentencing on the third of the six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on him and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges for torturing them and their sentencing began Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Melvin Jenkins, second from left, speaks to reporters while standing with lead civil attorney Malik Shabazz, left, and his son Michael Corey Jenkins, second from right, and wife Mary Jenkins, regarding the sentencing of the third of six former Rankin County law enforcement officers, who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on his son Michael and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023., while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his actions. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Civil co-counsel Trent Walker, right, speaks to reporters on the sentencing of the third former Rankin County law enforcement officer, while his one of his clients, Eddie Terrell Parker, left, and his aunt, Linda Rawls listen, while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his role with five other now former Rankin County law enforcement officers, in the racially motivated, violent torture of Parker and Jenkins. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mary Jenkins, right, and Melvin Jenkins, center, parents of Michael Corey Jenkins, and Linda Rawls, aunt of Eddie Terrell Parker, walk towards Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for sentencing on the third of the six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on their child and nephew in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges for torturing them and sentencing began Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
John Osborne, 62, of Jackson, sits outside the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, March 19, 2024, with signs of support for the two men abused by then six Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of charges for torturing them and their sentencing begins Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Michael Corey Jenkins, who along with Eddie Terrell Parker had been victims of torture by then six Mississippi Rankin County law officers in 2023, shows the scar left from having a gun fired off in his mouth by one of the now former lawmen, while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Jenkins still suffers from the injury. Former Mississippi Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputy Hunter Elward, received a 20-year in prison sentence, for his role in the torturing Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
FILE - This combination of photos shows, from top left, former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, Daniel Opdyke and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield appearing at the Rankin County Circuit Court in Brandon, Miss., Aug. 14, 2023. Two Black men who were tortured for hours by the six Mississippi law enforcement officers in 2023 called Monday, March 18, 2024, for a federal judge to impose the strictest possible penalties at their sentencings this week. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
FILE - This combination of photos shows, from top left, former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, Daniel Opdyke and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield appearing at the Rankin County Circuit Court in Brandon, Miss., Aug. 14, 2023. Two Black men who were tortured for hours by the six Mississippi law enforcement officers in 2023 called Monday, March 18, 2024, for a federal judge to impose the strictest possible penalties at their sentencings this week. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Eddie Terrell Parker and his aunt Linda Rawls express their joy at the 40-year prison sentence given to former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Christian Dedmon by a federal judge, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Jackson, Miss. Dedmon was sentenced for his part in the racist torture of Parker and Michael Corey Jenkins by a group of white officers who called themselves the “Goon Squad.” (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Eddie Terrell Parker and his aunt Linda Rawls express their joy at the 40-year prison sentence given to former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Christian Dedmon by a federal judge, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Jackson, Miss. Dedmon was sentenced for his part in the racist torture of Parker and Michael Corey Jenkins by a group of white officers who called themselves the “Goon Squad.” (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
“Now I am locking them up,” says Eddie Terrell Parker, showing off a handcuff necklace that he wears at the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Parker and Michael Corey Jenkins, was assaulted by then six Rankin County law men in 2023, witnessed the sentencing of former deputy Daniel Opdyke to 17.5 years in federal prison for his actions. Opdyke is the third of the six former officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on them and have pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
“Now I am locking them up,” says Eddie Terrell Parker, showing off a handcuff necklace that he wears at the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Parker and Michael Corey Jenkins, was assaulted by then six Rankin County law men in 2023, witnessed the sentencing of former deputy Daniel Opdyke to 17.5 years in federal prison for his actions. Opdyke is the third of the six former officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on them and have pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Attorney Jeffery Reynolds expresses disappointment on the 17.5 years federal prison sentence his client former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke received for his role in the racially motivated, violent torture of Black two men, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Jackson, Miss. Opdyke and five other now former Rankin County law enforcement officers pleaded guilty to numerous charges on the torture of the men. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Attorney Jeffery Reynolds expresses disappointment on the 17.5 years federal prison sentence his client former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke received for his role in the racially motivated, violent torture of Black two men, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Jackson, Miss. Opdyke and five other now former Rankin County law enforcement officers pleaded guilty to numerous charges on the torture of the men. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Melvin Jenkins, second from right, speaks to reporters while standing with lead civil attorney Malik Shabazz, second from left, and his son Michael Corey Jenkins, right, on the sentencing of the third of six former Rankin County law enforcement officers, who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on his son Michael and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023., while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his actions. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Melvin Jenkins, second from right, speaks to reporters while standing with lead civil attorney Malik Shabazz, second from left, and his son Michael Corey Jenkins, right, on the sentencing of the third of six former Rankin County law enforcement officers, who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on his son Michael and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023., while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his actions. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Lead civil attorney Malik Shabazz, second from left, speaks to reporters while his clients, Eddie Terrell Parker, left, Michael Corey Jenkins, and his father Melvin Jenkins, center, and mother Mary Jenkins, right, listen while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, following the federal court sentencing of the third of six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on Parker and Jenkins in 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Lead civil attorney Malik Shabazz, second from left, speaks to reporters while his clients, Eddie Terrell Parker, left, Michael Corey Jenkins, and his father Melvin Jenkins, center, and mother Mary Jenkins, right, listen while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, following the federal court sentencing of the third of six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on Parker and Jenkins in 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Michael Corey Jenkins, left, and Eddie Terrell Parker enter the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for sentencing on the third of the six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on them in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges for torturing them and their sentencing began Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Michael Corey Jenkins, left, and Eddie Terrell Parker enter the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for sentencing on the third of the six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on them in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges for torturing them and their sentencing began Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Civil co-counsel Trent Walker, center, speaks to reporters on the sentencing of the third former Rankin County law enforcement officer, while his clients, Eddie Terrell Parker, left, Michael Corey Jenkins, listen while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his role with five other now former Rankin County law enforcement officers, in the racially motivated, violent torture of Parker and Jenkins. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Civil co-counsel Trent Walker, center, speaks to reporters on the sentencing of the third former Rankin County law enforcement officer, while his clients, Eddie Terrell Parker, left, Michael Corey Jenkins, listen while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his role with five other now former Rankin County law enforcement officers, in the racially motivated, violent torture of Parker and Jenkins. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Michael Corey Jenkins, right, follows a friend as he enters the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for sentencing on the third of the six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on him and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges for torturing them and their sentencing began Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Michael Corey Jenkins, right, follows a friend as he enters the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for sentencing on the third of the six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on him and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges for torturing them and their sentencing began Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Melvin Jenkins, second from left, speaks to reporters while standing with lead civil attorney Malik Shabazz, left, and his son Michael Corey Jenkins, second from right, and wife Mary Jenkins, regarding the sentencing of the third of six former Rankin County law enforcement officers, who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on his son Michael and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023., while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his actions. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Melvin Jenkins, second from left, speaks to reporters while standing with lead civil attorney Malik Shabazz, left, and his son Michael Corey Jenkins, second from right, and wife Mary Jenkins, regarding the sentencing of the third of six former Rankin County law enforcement officers, who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on his son Michael and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023., while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his actions. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Civil co-counsel Trent Walker, right, speaks to reporters on the sentencing of the third former Rankin County law enforcement officer, while his one of his clients, Eddie Terrell Parker, left, and his aunt, Linda Rawls listen, while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his role with five other now former Rankin County law enforcement officers, in the racially motivated, violent torture of Parker and Jenkins. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Civil co-counsel Trent Walker, right, speaks to reporters on the sentencing of the third former Rankin County law enforcement officer, while his one of his clients, Eddie Terrell Parker, left, and his aunt, Linda Rawls listen, while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Former Rankin County deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his role with five other now former Rankin County law enforcement officers, in the racially motivated, violent torture of Parker and Jenkins. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mary Jenkins, right, and Melvin Jenkins, center, parents of Michael Corey Jenkins, and Linda Rawls, aunt of Eddie Terrell Parker, walk towards Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for sentencing on the third of the six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on their child and nephew in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges for torturing them and sentencing began Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mary Jenkins, right, and Melvin Jenkins, center, parents of Michael Corey Jenkins, and Linda Rawls, aunt of Eddie Terrell Parker, walk towards Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for sentencing on the third of the six former Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on their child and nephew in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of federal charges for torturing them and sentencing began Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
John Osborne, 62, of Jackson, sits outside the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, March 19, 2024, with signs of support for the two men abused by then six Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of charges for torturing them and their sentencing begins Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
John Osborne, 62, of Jackson, sits outside the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, March 19, 2024, with signs of support for the two men abused by then six Mississippi Rankin County law enforcement officers who committed numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture on Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker in 2023. The six former law officers pleaded guilty to a number of charges for torturing them and their sentencing begins Tuesday in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Michael Corey Jenkins, who along with Eddie Terrell Parker had been victims of torture by then six Mississippi Rankin County law officers in 2023, shows the scar left from having a gun fired off in his mouth by one of the now former lawmen, while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Jenkins still suffers from the injury. Former Mississippi Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputy Hunter Elward, received a 20-year in prison sentence, for his role in the torturing Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Michael Corey Jenkins, who along with Eddie Terrell Parker had been victims of torture by then six Mississippi Rankin County law officers in 2023, shows the scar left from having a gun fired off in his mouth by one of the now former lawmen, while outside the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Jenkins still suffers from the injury. Former Mississippi Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputy Hunter Elward, received a 20-year in prison sentence, for his role in the torturing Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Two former Mississippi deputies wept in court Wednesday as a federal judge sentenced them to years in prison and condemned their cruelty for breaking into a home with four other white officers and torturing two Black men.
U.S. District Judge Tom Lee sentenced Christian Dedmon, 29, to 40 years in prison and Daniel Opdyke, 28, to 17.5 years.
Lee said Dedmon carried out the most “shocking, brutal and cruel attacks imaginable” against the two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, and against a white man during a traffic stop weeks earlier.
Dedmon did not look at Jenkins and Parker as he apologized Wednesday, saying he’d never forgive himself for the pain he caused.
Jenkins, who has trouble speaking after being shot in the mouth during the January 2023 attack, said in a statement read by his lawyer that Dedmon’s actions were the most depraved of any of those who attacked him.
“Deputy Dedmon is the worst example of a police officer in the United States,” Jenkins’ lawyer read. “Deputy Dedmon was the most aggressive, sickest and the most wicked.”
On Tuesday, Lee sentenced 31-year-old Hunter Elward, who shot Jenkins, to nearly 20 years in prison and Jeffrey Middleton, 46, to 17.5 years. The judge called their actions “egregious and despicable.” They, like Opdyke and Dedmon, worked as Rankin County sheriff’s deputies during the attack.
Another former deputy, Brett McAlpin, 53, and a former Richland police officer, Joshua Hartfield, 32, are set for sentencing Thursday.
All six pleaded guilty last August, admitting that they broke into a home without a warrant and tortured Jenkins and Parker after a neighbor complained the men were staying there with a white woman.
Hours before Dedmon’s sentencing, Opdyke cried profusely as he turned to look at Jenkins and Parker, saying isolation behind bars had given him time to reflect on “how I transformed into the monster I became that night.”
“The weight of my actions and the harm I’ve caused will haunt me every day,” Opdyke said. “I wish I could take away your suffering.”
Parker rested his head in his hands and closed his eyes, then stood and left the courtroom before Opdyke finished speaking. Jenkins said he was “broken” and “ashamed” by the cruelty inflicted on him.
Some of the former officers involved in the attack called themselves the “Goon Squad.” The judge said Opdyke may not have been fully aware of what being a member of the group entailed when Middleton asked him to join, but Opdyke did know it involved using excessive force.
Last March, months before federal prosecutors announced charges in August, an investigation by The Associated Press linked some of the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries.
The former officers stuck to their cover story for months until finally admitting that they tortured Jenkins and Parker. Elward admitted to shoving a gun into Jenkins’ mouth and firing it in a “mock execution” that went awry.
In a statement Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the “heinous attack on citizens they had sworn an oath to protect.”
The terror began Jan. 24, 2023, with a racist call for extrajudicial violence when a white person in Rankin County complained to McAlpin that two Black men were staying with a white woman at a house in Braxton. McAlpin told Dedmon, who texted a group of white deputies asking if they were “available for a mission.” “No bad mugshots,” he texted — a green light, prosecutors said, to use excessive force on parts of the body that wouldn’t appear in a booking photo.
Once inside, they handcuffed Jenkins and his friend Parker and poured milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup over their faces. They forced them to strip naked and shower together to conceal the mess. They mocked the victims with racial slurs and shocked them with stun guns. Dedmon and Opdyke assaulted them with a sex toy.
After Elward shot Jenkins in the mouth, lacerating his tongue and breaking his jaw, they devised a coverup that included planting drugs and a gun. False charges stood against Jenkins and Parker for months.
The majority-white Rankin County is just east of the state capital, Jackson, home to one of the highest percentages of Black residents of any major U.S. city. The officers shouted at Jenkins and Parker to “stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River,” according to court documents.
Opdyke was the first to admit what they did, his attorney Jeff Reynolds said Wednesday. On April 12, he showed investigators a WhatsApp text thread where the officers discussed their plan and what happened. Had he thrown his phone in a river, as some of the other officers did, investigators might not have discovered the encrypted messages.
Reynolds also said Opdyke was sexually assaulted as a child and had seen the older deputies as father figures, making him susceptible to the culture of misconduct within the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office.
“When a new officer goes over there, they start indoctrinating people,” Reynolds said. “Where is the true leadership? Why aren’t they in this court?”
Dedmon, who planted drugs on Jenkins to frame him on false charges, said bad behavior did not get in the way of his promotion to narcotics investigator.
“It’s because instead of doing the right thing, I chose to do the wrong thing,” Dedmon said.
Dedmon, like Opdyke and Elward, also pleaded guilty to taking part in an assault on a white man during a traffic stop Dec. 4, 2022. Prosecutors revealed the victim’s identity Tuesday as Alan Schmidt. Reynolds said Opdyke held Schmidt down until Dedmon arrived but didn’t beat him or sexually assault him.
The AP does not typically name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identified or come forward publicly.
According to a statement from Schmidt that prosecutors read in court, Dedmon accused him of possessing stolen property. Schmidt said he was handcuffed, pulled from his vehicle and beaten.
Prosecutors said Elward and Opdyke failed to intervene as Dedmon punched and kicked him, used a Taser on him, fired his gun into the air, then sexually assaulted him.
“What sick individual does this?” Schmidt wrote.
Dedmon admitted to firing a gun into the air to intimidate Schmidt but denied sexually assaulting him. Prosecutors said they read details from the sexual assault into the court record when Dedmon pleaded guilty, and Dedmon said he agreed with the facts presented.
Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, who took office in 2012, revealed no details about his deputies’ actions when he announced they had been fired last June. After they pleaded guilty, Bailey said the officers had gone rogue and promised changes. Jenkins and Parker called for his resignation and filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department.
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Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg.