A federal judge in Mississippi sentenced former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Christian Dedmon to 40 years in prison on Wednesday, making Dedmon the fourth in a string of sentences for deputies who pled guilty for their role in the January 2023 beating and torture of two Black men. Dedmon pleaded guilty alongside five other deputies of the self-titled “Goon Squad,” including Daniel Opdyke, who was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison earlier on Wednesday.
In January 2023, the six deputies who pleaded guilty beat, tortured and sexually assaulted two Black men, named Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, for hours during a warrantless house raid. During the raid, the deputies shot Jenkins in the mouth as part of a mock execution. Jenkins was then left to bleed with a broken jaw and a lacerated tongue. After the assaults, the deputies planted drugs and guns on the men to cover up their acts. The warrantless raid came after a neighbor voiced concern over possible drug activity at the home.
In a statement, through his attorney, Jenkins called Dedmon the worst of the group, stating, “Deputy Dedmon was the most aggressive, sickest and the most wicked.” During the sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors described the sexual assaults Dedmon committed against the men. Lee called Dedmon’s acts the most “shocking, brutal and cruel acts imaginable.”
Attorney Malik Shabazz, who represents the victims, said of the sentencing:
Let this be a warning to all police officers in the United States of America. If you allow deputies and officers under your command to go rogue, to commit crimes and to abuse persons you will be held equally as responsible as the shooter and the abuser.
Jenkins and Parker have also filed a civil lawsuit against Rankin County and Sheriff Bryan Bailey.
A New York Times investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office revealed a history of brutality dating back to 2004. Records show Dedmon was also present at a 2019 standoff between police and Pierre Woods, who was described by his family as “mentally disturbed.”
The final two members of the “Goon Squad” are set to be sentenced on Thursday.
