By Darius Spearman (africanelements)

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In late 2025, investigative journalists shattered the silence surrounding the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department once again. While the nation believed the sentencing of six officers ended the "Goon Squad" saga, new recordings and interviews revealed the corruption ran deeper than a single rogue unit. These revelations exposed a history of systemic abuse that traces back nearly two decades. The story extends beyond the headlines of 2023. It reveals a culture where violence against Black residents became standard operating procedure. This report examines the history behind these headlines, detailing how a department built an empire of fear and how the community continues to fight back.

The "Goon Squad" forms within Rankin County Sheriff's Department, establishing the "No Bad Mugshots" torture policy.

Deputies torture Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker. Jenkins is shot in the mouth during a raid.

Six officers (5 deputies, 1 police officer) are sentenced to federal prison terms ranging from 10 to 40 years.

New reports expose the "Blue Wave" jail scandal and fresh sexual assault allegations against the department.

The unraveling of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department began on January 24, 2023. On that night, six white law enforcement officers burst into a home in Braxton, Mississippi, without a warrant. Their targets were two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker. A neighbor had complained about the men staying at a white woman’s home, sparking a racist call for extrajudicial violence (justice.gov, apnews.com). The officers, who called themselves the "Goon Squad," handcuffed the men and subjected them to nearly two hours of torture. They poured milk, alcohol, and chocolate syrup on the victims, forced them to strip naked, and used sexual assault devices to humiliate them (justice.gov, youtube.com).

The violence escalated when Deputy Hunter Elward placed a gun into the mouth of Michael Jenkins. Elward pulled the trigger, shattering Jenkins' jaw and lacerating his tongue (justice.gov). The officers then engaged in a massive cover-up. They destroyed surveillance footage, planted drugs, and discarded shell casings to hide their crimes (justice.gov). However, the physical evidence did not match their stories. Investigative reporting and federal scrutiny eventually broke through the wall of silence. In March 2024, a federal judge sentenced the six officers to a combined total of more than 130 years in prison (cbsnews.com). While this sentencing provided some relief, it was merely the beginning of uncovering a much larger system of abuse.

The brutality displayed in 2023 was not an isolated event. It was the culmination of a culture that had festered for two decades. Recent investigations revealed that the "Goon Squad" had operated since the early 2000s (revealnews.org). The group operated under a specific tactical philosophy known as "no bad mugshots." This policy instructed deputies to inflict pain on parts of the body that clothing would cover. They used tasers and beatings to extract confessions while ensuring the victims appeared uninjured in booking photos (revealnews.org, mississippifreepress.org). This allowed the department to deny allegations of abuse for years.

Investigative teams have now corroborated at least 17 separate incidents of torture involving 22 victims and 20 different deputies (mississippifreepress.org). The use of tasers as torture devices became routine. In one confirmed case, officers deployed a taser 17 times on a single victim (theguardian.com). This violence disproportionately targeted Black residents, reinforcing a racial hierarchy reminiscent of the Jim Crow South. The system relied on silence and fear, preventing victims from coming forward. The stories of Black family strength and resilience were tested as the community endured this reign of terror (aurn.com).

In November 2025, reporters from Mississippi Today and The New York Times released explosive new findings regarding the Rankin County Jail. These reports shifted the focus from patrol deputies to the detention center itself. The investigation uncovered a system known as the "Blue Wave." Under Sheriff Bryan Bailey’s leadership, jail guards allegedly deputized "trusty" inmates to maintain order through violence (revealnews.org, revealnews.org). These inmates, identifiable by their blue uniforms, received special privileges like extra food and freedom of movement.

In exchange for these perks, the "Blue Wave" acted as enforcers for the guards. They beat other inmates in areas of the jail where cameras could not record the assaults (revealnews.org). This system mirrored the convict leasing practices of the post-Reconstruction era, where the state delegated violence to favored prisoners. Former inmates described the guards commanding the trusties "like a pack of dogs" to attack specific targets (revealnews.org). This revelation proved that the culture of violence extended far beyond the "Goon Squad" patrol unit. It permeated every level of the county's law enforcement apparatus.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice (justice.gov)

The release of interview material in late 2025 coincided with a new federal lawsuit filed by Alan Schmidt. Schmidt alleges that in December 2022—just one month before the torture of Jenkins and Parker—he fell victim to the same deputies (motherjones.com). According to the lawsuit, deputies, including Christian Dedmon, pulled Schmidt over for a traffic stop. They handcuffed him, beat him, and sexually assaulted him on the side of the road (motherjones.com). These allegations provide critical corroboration for the pattern of sexual violence used by the squad.

Schmidt’s case highlights the failure of oversight mechanisms to catch these officers sooner. Despite the severity of the assault, the officers remained on duty, free to attack Jenkins and Parker weeks later. The lawsuit also names Sheriff Bryan Bailey, arguing that his failure to discipline officers created the environment that made such attacks possible (mississippifreepress.org). This case adds to the mounting legal pressure on the county, ensuring that the consequences of the "Goon Squad" era will continue to play out in courtrooms for years.

Understanding the "Goon Squad" requires looking at the demographics and politics of Rankin County. The county is approximately 72 percent White and 22 percent Black (censusreporter.org). It has long functioned as a conservative stronghold, often described as a "white flight" suburb of Jackson, the majority-Black capital city. This racial divide creates a political landscape where law enforcement leadership faces little opposition. Sheriff Bryan Bailey ran for re-election unopposed in November 2023, securing another term despite the scandal (apnews.com).

The racial dynamics also influenced the violence itself. The officers frequently used racial slurs during their attacks, telling Black victims to "stay out of Rankin County" and go back to "their side" of the Pearl River (justice.gov). This rhetoric shaped US politics around slavery and continues to manifest in modern policing. The officers viewed themselves as protectors of a racial boundary, using brutality to enforce segregation in practice if not in law. The support Sheriff Bailey retains among the majority-white electorate illustrates the deep entrenchment of these power structures (apnews.com).

The relentless reporting by journalists forced the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take drastic action. In September 2024, the DOJ launched a "pattern or practice" investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department (justice.gov). This type of civil probe goes beyond individual crimes. It examines whether the department systematically violates the Constitution through excessive force, unlawful stops, and discriminatory policing (justice.gov). This is the "nuclear option" of federal oversight.

If the investigation confirms systemic violations, the federal government can sue the county to force a "consent decree." This would mandate specific reforms and place the department under federal monitoring (justice.gov). The investigation is ongoing as of late 2025, fueled by the new revelations about the "Blue Wave" and the Schmidt lawsuit. Federal officials stated they aim to determine if the "Goon Squad" was an isolated group or part of a wider "culture of violence" fostered by leadership (justice.gov). The outcome of this investigation could reshape law enforcement in Mississippi.

Source: Census Reporter (censusreporter.org)

The actions of the "Goon Squad" have exacted a heavy financial toll on Rankin County taxpayers. The county paid a $2.5 million settlement to Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, the largest civil rights settlement in its history (cbsnews.com). However, this is likely only the beginning. The new lawsuits, such as the one filed by Alan Schmidt, threaten to drain millions more from county coffers. Legal experts predict that the "Blue Wave" jail scandal could lead to class-action lawsuits involving dozens of former inmates (revealnews.org).

Qualified immunity often shields individual officers from paying damages, forcing the county to cover the costs through insurance and tax revenue (cbsnews.com). This financial burden keeps the issue in the public eye, even for residents who might otherwise ignore the human rights abuses. The repeated payouts serve as a tangible reminder that a lack of oversight has a direct cost to the community. As the lawsuits pile up, the pressure on the political leadership to enact real change continues to grow.

Despite the federal sentences and the mounting lawsuits, Sheriff Bryan Bailey remains in office. He maintains that he was unaware of the "Goon Squad" and that the deputies lied to him (apnews.com). However, the new reporting on the "Blue Wave" directly implicates his management of the jail, making his defense of ignorance harder to maintain. Local activists continue to call for his resignation, arguing that he is either complicit in the violence or incompetent for failing to stop it (commondreams.org).

The release of the late 2025 interview materials ensures that the story does not fade away. Journalists and activists are keeping the pressure on the courts and oversight systems to deliver justice. The history of the Rankin County "Goon Squad" serves as a stark warning of what happens when law enforcement operates without accountability. The fight for a transparent and just system in Rankin County is far from over, but the community's refusal to stay silent offers hope for the future.

Darius Spearman is a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College, where he has been teaching for over 20 years. He is the founder of African Elements, a media platform dedicated to providing educational resources on the history and culture of the African diaspora. Through his work, Spearman aims to empower and educate by bringing historical context to contemporary issues affecting the Black community.