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The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a civil rights investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department following a racially motivated attack by six white officers who were a part of the “Goon Squad.”

Let’s bring you up to speed: In January of last year, six white officers from the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, who called themselves the “Goon Squad,” attacked two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker. The incident was triggered by a complaint from a neighbor about the men “staying” with a white woman. This led one officer to rally the others for a “new mission.” When the officers arrived, they subjected Jenkins and Parker to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. In one act, they forced a gun into Jenkins’s mouth and pulled the trigger, mutilating his tongue.

Scope of investigation: The DOJ’s review will determine whether the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department engages in patterns or practices that violate the Constitution and federal law. Specifically, the investigation will assess the department’s use of force, including deadly force, and examine whether the department regularly conducts unlawful stops, searches, and arrests.  

What the DOJ is saying: In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “The public is now well aware of the heinous attack inflicted on two Black men by Rankin County deputies who called themselves the ‘Goon Squad. Those officers have since been convicted and sentenced, but we are launching this civil pattern or practice investigation to examine serious allegations that the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department systematically violates people’s constitutional rights through excessive use of force; unlawful stops, searches, and arrests; and discriminatory policing.”

Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said, “The violent, unlawful and racially charged actions of the so-called Goon Squad left lasting and damaging effects on the community. “Since the Goon Squad’s sickening acts came to light, we have received reports of other instances where Rankin deputies overused tasers, entered homes unlawfully, bandied about shocking racial slurs, and deployed dangerous, cruel tactics to assault people in their custody.”