Rankin County Sheriff’s Department: A History of Brutality and Impunity

Accident – Death – Obituary News : Title: Investigation Reveals Rampant Brutality and Abuse by Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputies

Subtitle: The Times’s Local Investigations Fellowship uncovers a pattern of violence and misconduct within the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department

Date: [Insert Date]

Byline: [Insert Author Name]

Rankin County, Mississippi – A recent investigation conducted by Brian Howey and Nate Rosenfield, as part of The Times’s Local Investigations Fellowship, has exposed a long history of brutality and abuse committed by sheriff’s deputies in Rankin County. The report sheds light on the unchecked power of sheriffs’ offices in Mississippi and the devastating impact it has had on impoverished neighborhoods.

According to testimonies from dozens of victims and witnesses, a group of sheriff’s deputies, known as the Goon Squad, conducted raids in impoverished neighborhoods, terrorizing residents and subjecting them to acts of violence. Individuals were accused of drug-related offenses, handcuffed, held at gunpoint, and tortured until they confessed or provided information.

The accounts of violence are chilling. Robert Jones recalls being shocked with a Taser while submerged in a flooded ditch, followed by having a stick forced down his throat until he vomited blood. Mitchell Hobson describes being choked with a lamp cord, waterboarded, and beaten until his blood splattered the walls. Rick Loveday, a neighboring county’s sheriff’s deputy, was dragged out of his bed at gunpoint, threatened, and relentlessly beaten.

The investigation reveals that these incidents were not isolated events but part of a pattern of violence dating back to at least 2004. The Times and Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting examined court records, sheriff’s office reports, and interviewed over 50 individuals who either witnessed or experienced torture at the hands of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department.

Shockingly, the violence was not hidden from department leaders, and many victims filed lawsuits or formal complaints detailing their encounters. Some even reached out to Sheriff Bryan Bailey directly but were ignored. The investigation identified 20 deputies present during these incidents, including former narcotics detective Christian Dedmon, former Undersheriff Paul Holley, and former Deputy Dean Scott, who is now the police chief in Pearl, Mississippi.

The report highlights the culture of impunity that allowed Rankin deputies to operate without consequences, resulting in numerous arrests for minor drug offenses and leaving entire neighborhoods living in fear of violent raids. The investigation corroborated 17 incidents involving 22 victims through witness interviews, medical records, photographs of injuries, and other documents.

In many cases, Taser logs obtained through a public records request showed that deputies repeatedly shocked individuals for longer than considered safe and exceeded the recommended limit of Taser use. At least 32 instances were recorded over the past decade wherein deputies fired their Tasers more than five times in under an hour, raising suspicion among experts in Taser use.

Despite the growing scrutiny on Sheriff Bailey’s office due to the Justice Department’s investigation, he won re-election this year, running unopposed. The accused deputies declined to comment on the allegations.

The report concludes that Rankin deputies were able to operate with impunity due to a lack of accountability and oversight. It calls attention to the urgent need for reform within the sheriff’s office and the wider power dynamics of sheriffs’ offices in rural Mississippi.

As a result of the investigation, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department announced updated internal policies and training on federal civil rights laws. However, the statement failed to acknowledge the broader pattern of abuse and violence within the department.

The series by The Times’s Local Investigations Fellowship serves as a reminder of the importance of holding law enforcement accountable and the ongoing fight for justice in communities affected by systemic misconduct and abuse of power.
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