In 2023, six law enforcement officers, some calling themselves the “Goon Squad,” brutalized two Black men and shot one in the mouth. The officers went to prison, and Mississippi Today’s investigative team, in partnership with The New York Times Local Investigations Fellowship, documented a nearly two-decade reign of terror carried out by deputies of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department. After the reporting, lawmakers passed a law to increase police oversight, and the Justice Department launched an investigation into the agency.
The team’s work continues with its Abuse of Power project. Reporters analyzed 100,000-plus Taser log entries from 36 departments and found widespread abuse. Vivian Burks, a 65-year-old great-grandmother in Carthage, Mississippi, was reading her Bible when police officers, who thought they smelled marijuana, tased her.
Reporters continued investigating Rankin County. One “Goon Squad” officer shared what he knew. So did former inmates. While jailed, they said, they worked on the chicken farm owned by Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey’s mother and used taxpayer-purchased equipment on the farm. The state auditor is now investigating.
More than 70 former inmates shared how guards terrorized them and others inside the Rankin County jail. They described how inmates, known as the “Blue Wave,” beat people who broke the rules under guards’ orders. Medical records, photos, and incident reports supported their stories. A video of guards shocking an intellectually disabled man because he wanted a Coke helped to confirm the torture behind bars. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has opened an investigation.
Photo caption: Former inmate Christopher Mack said he was beaten by guards and inmates in 2021. Image courtesy of Mississippi Today.
