Following the conviction and sentencing of six Rankin County law enforcement officers dubbed the “Goon Squad” for a police brutality ring, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced an investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office and the county itself.
The aim of the investigation is to determine whether officers in the department engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution or federal law. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke and U.S. Attorney Todd Gee told the media that, while the Goon Squad assaults were a partial catalyst to the investigation, it will not be confined to a single incident, unit, or individual.
The investigation will focus on three areas:
- Whether the department engages in a pattern or practice of excessive force
- Whether the department engages in a pattern or practice of unlawful stops, searches, and arrests
- Whether the department engages in a pattern or practice of racially discriminatory policing practices
Both high-ranking legal officials say that they have received reports and evidence indicative of larger abuse of power and lack of accountability within the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office beyond the Goon Squad incidents.
“Since the Goon Squads sickening acts came to light, we have received reports of other incidents indicating that this conduct is far too common,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said. “Incidents where ranking deputies overused tasers, entered homes unlawfully, bandied about shocking racial slurs, and deployed dangerous, cruel tactics to assault people in their custody. Allegations like these have persisted for years, suggesting widespread department failures.”
Other allegations against the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office include planting evidence, coercing confessions, and attempting to hide wrongdoing. According to Clarke and Gee, a lack of reporting, documentation, and accountability persists beyond the convicted deputy’s actions in January.
“For several reasons, this may not simply be written off as an isolated incident in Rankin County,” U.S. Attorney Todd Gee said, noting that three of the same deputies pleaded guilty to charges in a separate attack and a review of their communications indicate other abuse. “Brave residents of Rankin County have come forward to report abuse by members of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office.”
Gee also said he heard further accounts of alleged abuse from “men and women, old and young” in a public listening session held in Rankin County. The combined reports and allegations led the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to move forward with the civil investigation to address the alleged issues in the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department.
“I want to make clear that there are good law enforcement officers in Rankin County and throughout Mississippi that go to work every day and do the right thing,” Gee added. “They answer the call when people are in need, and they treat those they encounter fairly. But the information we have learned to date about the conduct of some members of the Rankin County Sheriff’s office3 calls back to some of the worst periods of Mississippi’s history.”
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