DOJ Launches Civil Rights Probe into Mississippi Sheriff's Department Amid Brutality Allegations

The investigation follows the conviction of six officers in a racially motivated attack and aims to uncover systemic abuses.

The Department of Justice has initiated a civil rights investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff's Department to determine if there is a pattern of excessive force and racially discriminatory practices.
The probe comes after five former deputies and one former police officer were sentenced for torturing two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, in January 2023.
Attorneys for Jenkins and Parker expect to file additional lawsuits on behalf of other victims who allege similar abuses by the sheriff's department.
The convicted officers were part of a group known as the 'Goon Squad,' notorious for using excessive force and not reporting it.
Local residents and attorneys have called for the resignation of Sheriff Bryan Bailey, citing a decade of mismanagement and brutality under his leadership.