The six white law enforcement officers in Mississippi had pleaded guilty last year in federal court to the racist torture of two Black men.
Six Mississippi "Goon Squad" officers have been sentenced to prison terms totaling a combined 130-plus years for raiding the home of two Black men, who were tortured and sexually assaulted for hours. One was shot in the mouth.
The last two former law enforcement officers were sentenced Thursday. Joshua Hartfield, 32, a former Richland cop, received 10 years. Brett McAlpin, 52, was given more than 27 years. McAlpin is one of five Rankin County Sheriff deputies charged in the deeply disturbing racist attacks on Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker.
All six white men have resigned or been fired since the January 2023 violence against Jenkins and Parker. All six also pleaded guilty last August to civil rights abuses committed during their illegal raid on a home where the two men were staying.
The white officers kicked down the doors of the house and stormed inside, where they forced the men to strip, handcuffed them, beat them, sexually assaulted them with an object and ultimately shot Jenkins in the mouth during a "mock execution" that went wrong, authorities said.
The Black men told authorities they were repeatedly called "monkeys" and "n*****s" while they were tortured and beaten.
The unlawful raid was conducted after a neighbor complained to one of the officers about Black men who were staying with a white woman and behaving strangely, officials said.
A call went out to Goon Squad members, a name that reflected their willingness to use excessive force and not report it, prosecutors said.
On Wednesday, Christian Dedmon, 29, was sentenced to 40 years and Daniel Opdyke, 28, was sentenced to 17.5 years. Hunter Elward, 31, was sentenced to more than 19 years on Tuesday, and Jeffrey Middleton, 46, was sentenced to 17.5 years.
U.S. District Judge Tom Lee had called the men's actions “egregious and despicable."
Many of the former officers sobbed in court as they apologized to their victims, who did not testify at the hearings.
"This was all wrong, very wrong. It's not how people should treat each other and even more so, it's not how law enforcement should treat people," McAlpin said Thursday. "I'm really sorry for being a part of something that made law enforcement look so bad."
On Tuesday, Elward turned and looked at the Black men, who were seated in the front of courtroom. “I don’t want to get too personal. I see you every night, and I can’t go back and do what’s right,” Elward said. “I am so sorry for what I did.
For two hours, the Black men endured "a horrific and stark example of violent police misconduct which has no place in our society today," said federal prosecutor Kristen Clarke at a news conference last year.
The six former officers poured milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup over the men's faces and Elward shoved a gun inside Jenkins' mouth and pulled the trigger, mangling his tongue and jaw, prosecutors said.
The six men are also awaiting sentencing from a state court.
