From Top left: Brett McAlpin, Hunter Elward, Daniel Opdyke, Jeffrey Middleton, Christian Dedmon, Joshua Hartfield.Photo:AP Photo
AP Photo
Six White former Mississippi police officers pleaded guilty Monday after breaking into a home in which two Black men were living and torturing them while hurling racial slurs.
Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, all formerly of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, as well as ex- Richland Police Department officer Joshua Hartfield, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice against Michael Jenkins, 32, and 35-year-old Eddie Parker.
Elward also pleaded guilty to home invasion and aggravated assault. Dedmon also pleaded guilty to home invasion and McAlpin, Opdyke, Hartfield and Middleton all pleaded to obstruction of justice.
The six men also pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from the same incident last week.
Jenkins and Parker were staying at the home of Kristi Walley, who had been paralyzed as a teen. Parker was a childhood friend of Walley’s who helped with her care, theAssociated Pressreported.
McAlpin told Dedmon to handle the call.
Michael Corey Jenkins.AP Photo/HG Biggs
AP Photo/HG Biggs
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Dedmon made sure to inform the group that there may be surveillance cameras on the property, instructing them to “work easy.”
“The defendants understood “work easy” to mean knock on the door, rather than kick it down,” the federal complaint states.
Dedmon, Middleton, Elward, Opdyke along with Hartfield arrived at the home and pulled into the driveway. The men walked to the back of the residence and to the carport door to avoid the surveillance cameras where Elward kicked open the carport door and Hartfield busted down the back door, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, both Parker and Jenkins, both Black men, were then tasered, handcuffed and placed under arrest for no reason.
Eddie Parker.AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
Dedmon then fired a round into the wall of the laundry room, the complaint alleges.
The officers walked the two handcuffed men into the living room where they berated them with racist slurs and “taking advantage of the White woman who owned the house,” according to the complaint.
At one point, Opdyke grabbed a sex toy from one of the bedrooms and mounted it on top of a BB gun and “forced the dildo into the mouth of [Parker], and attempted to force the dildo into the mouth of [Jenkins]," the complaint alleges.
The men were also pushed onto their backs on the floor where Elward held them down while Dedmon dumped milk, chocolate syrup and alcohol on their faces.
Dedmon also dumped cooking grease on Parker’s head and Elward smashed eggs on both of the men.
Jenkins and Parker were forced to take showers together “to wash away evidence of abuse” before they were taken into custody.
After the showers, Parker was hit with a wooden kitchen implement, pieces of wood and assaulted with a metal sword.
They were tasered multiple times to “see which one was the most powerful.”
“Elward’s taser was discharged 8 times, Hartfield’s taser was discharged five times, and Dedmon’s taser was discharged 4 times,” according to the complaint.
At another point, Elward stuck a gun in Jenkin’s mouth and fired but the gun didn’t discharge. He tried again and this time the gun discharged.
Michael Jenkins, second from right, stand with his mother, Mary Jenkins.AP Photo/Michael Goldberg
AP Photo/Michael Goldberg
“The bullet lacerated [Jenkin’s] tongue, broke his jaw and exited out of his neck,” the complaint states.
While Jenkins was bleeding the officers huddled together to come up with a “false cover story,” which included finding baggies of methamphetamine in Jenkin’s pocket. To cover up the shooting of Jenkins, the officers “agreed to tell investigators that: Elward brought [Jenkins] into the side room to conduct a controlled drug buy over the phone; and that Elward shot [Jenkins] in self-defense.”
Middleton also offered to plant a ‘throw-down’ gun on Jenkins that he kept in his patrol car. Hartfield attempted to burn the two men’s clothing but instead tossed them into the woods behind the home. Dedmon also entered drug evidence to the crime lab claiming it was Jenkins' stash.
“Today’s second set of guilty pleas represent the first time in Mississippi history that a White law enforcement office has ever been held criminally accountable for police misconduct against a Black person,” said Shabazz. “Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker Continue to suffer emotionally and physically since this horrific occurrence, as well as the entire Rankin County community due to the policies and customs of Rankin County and it’s Sheriff Department under the mis-leadership of [Sheriff] Bryan Bailey who is directly responsible for the vicious acts of his subordinates."
Jeffery Reynolds, an attorney for Opdyke, told CNN in a statement that his client “takes responsibility for his part in the horrific harms perpetrated on Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Parker, the victims, and is prepared to face the consequences of his misconduct.”
Hartfield’s attorney’s Vicki Gilliam and Robert Lingold released a statement to PEOPLE saying, “Today, again, Josh owned responsibility for his role in these crimes committed against Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Parker. He pled guilty without the need for the government to seek a grand jury indictment. He awaits his sentences, already in custody, and has left his family and life behind. Josh testified that he understands the severity of his own actions and inactions, as well as the horrific acts of the other officers. While he cannot change what he did, he has shown that he is ready to accept consequences. As his attorneys, we can only prepare with him for his upcoming sentencings.”
Attorneys for Dedmon, Elward, McAlpin and Middleton could not be reached for comment.
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source: people.com
