The troubled sheriff of Rankin County, Mississippi, has been attempting to disassociate himself from violence inside his department for almost two years, claiming he was not aware of attacks such as those committed by deputies who referred to themselves as the Goon Squad.
However, according to department records and an interview with a former FBI agent, sheriff Bryan Bailey had proof of his officers’ aggressive behavior dating back to the beginning of his tenure.
The department and the FBI had examined video footage of a deputy crashing his car into a fugitive and threatening to kill a youngster in 2012, the year Mr. Bailey was appointed sheriff.
A man sued the department eight years later, alleging that while he was handcuffed, cops jammed a revolver in his mouth and struck him with a metal rod.
Then, in 2022, a deputy was seen on camera shocking a man in handcuffs in the back of a patrol car with his Taser.
The F.B.I. and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department both acknowledged that they had looked into all three incidents. None of the deputies involved were fired or charged, although one was suspended and another was moved. In 2023, a number of them were found guilty of torturing two individuals, Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins, or were later connected to violent Goon Squad raids.
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