Six former Mississippi police officers pleaded guilty Monday to state charges related to torture that involved waterboarding, tasing, sexually abusing and using racial slurs on two Black men. Former Rankin County Sheriff’s Office deputies Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, and Daniel Opdyk, and former Richland Police Department investigator Joshua Hartfield—who called themselves the “Goon Squad”—busted down the door to Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker’s apartment without a warrant before assaulting the men for 90 minutes in January. They then planted drugs and a gun, leading to false charges against one of the men, but their cover-up fell apart when one of the officers came clean. The group were charged with aggravated assault, home invasion, obstruction of justice and hindering prosecution in the first degree, and conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and hinder prosecution. The men previously admitted guilt in a federal suit filed by Jenkins and Parker.
