Department of Justice launches Civil Rights Investigation in Rankin County and Sheriff’s Department

RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) - The Justice Department has opened a civil pattern or practice investigation into Rankin County, Mississippi, and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department. According to the Department of Justice, the investigation “will seek to determine whether RCSD engages in patterns or practices that violate the Constitution and federal law.” The DOJ’s investigation came about after obtaining more details and information about the conduct at the department. The investigation will evaluate all types of force used by deputies in Rankin County, including deadly force. It will also assess whether the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department engages in unlawful stops, searches, and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment and whether the department conducts discriminatory policing in violation of the 14th Amendment, Title VI, and the Safe Streets Act. While this is separate and independent from the prosecutions of the deputies convicted in the assault of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, they want to determine if that type of behavior is instilled within the department. “Put simply, the concerns about the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department did not end with the demise of the Goon Squad. There is no question that individual officers must be held accountable when they violate the law,” U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said. Rankin County officials have pledged their cooperation in this investigation. US. Attorney Todd Gee hopes this will turn a page for Rankin County and the entire state. “We do not have to accept the old hatreds and abuse of the past, and we do not have to accept the false claim that safety comes at the price of a illegal force and abuse of power,” Attorney Gee said. Malik Shabazz, the attorney for Jenkins and Parker, released a statement on the investigation. It states, “This is a first, critical step in cleaning up the Sheriff’s Department and holding Rankin County legally accountable for the years of constitutional violations against its citizenry. The torture and abuse of so many took place because, despite innumerable warnings, Rankin County and Sheriff Bailey belligerently refused to properly monitor and supervise this rogue and violent department. Rankin County’s liability to its citizenry is much bigger than the ‘Goon Squad’ as individuals. The next step for Rankin County is to make its victims whole, and to hopefully start a new chapter in justice.”