By Aaron Miller-
The fourth of six Mississippi former officers in the U.S has pleaded guilty to torturing black men
In a courtroom in Mississippi, the gavel fell with a resounding thud, marking the culmination of a harrowing chapter in America’s troubled history of racism in policing.
Christian Dedmon,(pictured) a former sheriff’s deputy, stood stoically as he received a sentence of 40 years in federal prison for his role in the heinous torture of two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, by a group of white officers who called themselves “the Goon Squad.”
The proceedings, which unfolded against a backdrop of anguish and outrage, served as a sobering reminder of the deep-rooted issues that continue to plague law enforcement agencies across the United States of America.
All six of the white former officers charged in the torture pleaded guilty tot he crimes, admitting that they subjected Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to numerous acts of racist torture in January 2023 after a neighbor complained that the men were staying in a home with a white woman.
Federal prosecutors detailed sexual assaults by Dedmon that made him stand out among the other officers charged.
Dedmon’s sentencing, coming on the heels of Daniel Opdyke’s 17.5-year prison term, highlights the urgency of addressing systemic racism and brutality within the ranks of American policing.
Federal prosecutors painted a chilling picture of racial animus and sadistic violence, revealing how Dedmon and his cohorts subjected the victims to a barrage of physical and psychological torment, including sexual assaults and degrading acts of humiliation.
Jenkins, still bearing the scars of his ordeal, bravely faced his attackers in court, delivering a searing indictment of Dedmon’s actions. “Deputy Dedmon is the worst example of a police officer in the United States,” he declared, his voice quivering with emotion. “His cruelty and depravity know no bounds.”
Opdyke, too, stood before the judge, tears streaming down his face as he grappled with the weight of his actions. “I am haunted by the harm I have caused,” he confessed, his voice choked with remorse.
But his remorse could not erase the trauma inflicted upon Jenkins and Parker, whose lives were forever altered by the brutality they endured.
In the December incident, Dedmon was one of several Rankin County deputies who pulled over a man identified in court Tuesday as Alan Schmidt.
Schmidt was handcuffed, pulled from his vehicle and beaten. Dedmon then fired his gun into the air, forced Schmidt to his knees, and attempted to sexually assault him. Elward, one of the deputies sentenced Tuesday, was present at the time.
During the January 2023 incident, the six officers tortured Jenkins and Parker. The incident began on Jan. 24, 2023, with a racist call for extrajudicial violence.
In the December incident, Dedmon was one of several Rankin County deputies who pulled over a man identified in court Tuesday as Alan Schmidt. Schmidt was handcuffed, pulled from his vehicle and beaten. Dedmon then fired his gun into the air, forced Schmidt to his knees, and attempted to sexually assault him. Elward, one of the deputies sentenced Tuesday, was present at the time.
During the January 2023 incident, the six officers tortured Jenkins and Parker. The incident began on Jan. 24, 2023, with a racist call for extrajudicial violence.
A White person phoned Rankin County Deputy Brett McAlpin and complained that two Black men were staying with a White woman at a house in Braxton, Mississippi. McAlpin told Dedmon, who texted a group of White deputies so willing to use excessive force they called themselves “The Goon Squad.”
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 assaulted them with a sex toy.
. They mocked the victims with racial slurs and shocked them with stun guns. Dedmon assaulted them with a sex toy.
A White person phoned Rankin County Deputy Brett McAlpin and complained that two Black men were staying with a White woman at a house in Braxton, Mississippi. McAlpin told Dedmon, who texted a group of White deputies so willing to use excessive force they called themselves “The Goon Squad.”
Once inside, they handcuffed Jenkins and his friend Parker and poured milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup over their faces.
They subsequently 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 assaulted them with a sex toy.
In a statement Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the “heinous attack on citizens they had sworn an oath to protect.”
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 warned Jenkins and Parker to “stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River,” court documents say, referencing an area with higher concentrations of Black residents.
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.
For months, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, whose deputies committed the crimes, said little about the episode. After the officers pleaded guilty in August, Bailey said the officers had gone rogue and promised to change the department. Jenkins and Parker have called for his resignation, and they have filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department.
. The case laid bare the insidious nature of systemic racism, shining a harsh light on the pervasive culture of impunity that has long shielded abusive officers from accountability.
But amid the darkness, there were glimmers of hope. Judge Tom Lee, in a moment of clarity and courage, delivered a scathing rebuke of Dedmon and his cohorts, condemning their actions as “egregious and despicable.”
His words echoed the sentiments of millions of Americans who had grown weary of empty promises and hollow apologies.
Yet, even as Dedmon and Opdyke were led away in handcuffs, searching questions remain . How such atrocities occur in a nation founded on the principles of equality and justice is a burning question.
What it would take to dismantle the systems of oppression that continue to perpetuate violence and injustice may elude many more generations to come.
The answers, it seems, lie not in empty rhetoric or symbolic gestures, but in tangible actions and meaningful reforms. Across America, calls for police accountability have grown louder, fuelled by a groundswell of activism and outrage.
Change will not come easily, but will require courage and conviction, as well as a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths and challenge entrenched power structures.
It will require us to reckon with America’s painful legacy of racism and to confront the injustices that continue to plague our society.