The FBI has launched an investigation into the alleged torture and abuse of two Black Mississippi men by sheriff deputies.
The men and their attorneys claim the pair was handcuffed, beaten, shocked with Tasers and subjected to “waterboarding techniques” by Rankin County Sheriff’s deputies.
One of the men, Michael Corey Jenkins, was shot in the mouth and had to undergo surgery to remove his tongue, they said.
The sheriff’s office said the deputies were in the middle of a narcotics investigation when they raided the home where Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker were staying on Jan. 24. However, attorney Malik Z. Shabazz says neither man had drugs and the deputies also accused them of “dating white women.”
Parker said six white deputies handcuffed him and made them get on their knees, and put them through a hellish 90 minutes. It ended with one of the deputies sticking the barrel of a gun in Jenkins’ mouth and squeezing the trigger. The bullet shot through his ear.
“It was senseless and uncalled for,” Parker said at a news conference Wednesday, Feb. 15. “It was traumatizing and something I never thought I’d go through.”
Shabazz denied allegations that his clients were involved in drug dealing. He claims the deputies barged into the home without a warrant and “immediately subdued” and handcuffed both men before launching a “free-for-all intimidation and torture session.”
Parker said the deputies punched, kicked, slapped and took turns using Tasers on them.
“Rankin County Deputies repeatedly pointed guns to their heads and mouths and threatened to kill the terrified Jenkins and Parker. All the while, both men offered no resistance,” Shabazz said in a statement.
Parker also told The Associated Press that they were ordered to lie on their backs while deputies poured milk over their faces. He said he struggled “to keep breathing and keep from drowning at the same time.”
“There was milk coming out of my nose, my mouth,” Parker said. “I’ve never been in that position and felt the way that I felt that night.”
The men’s legal team says their civil rights were violated.
“Deputies tried to torture the men into believing they were drowning in order to elicit a confession from Jenkins and Parker,” Shabazz said.
The attorneys are demanding the officers who participated in the incident be charged with “attempted murder and aggravated assault; conspiracy; and criminal civil rights violations.”
They are also calling for the release of body camera footage and all official reports related to the incident.
The Rankin County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to Atlanta Black Star’s requests for comment and incident reports related to the arrests.
However, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said in a public statement he contacted the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation about the deputies’ actions “and is fully cooperating with that ongoing investigation and will continue to do so.”
“Rest assured, if any deputy or suspect involved in this incident is found to have broken the law, he will be held accountable in accordance with the law,” Bailey said.
The men’s lawyers believe there is a practice of police abuse in the predominately white county. They also said they plan to seek legal action against the law enforcement agency.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that the FBI’s Jackson Field Office, its Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi have opened a federal civil rights investigation into the incident.
Bailey Martin, spokesperson for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, confirmed to the Atlanta Black Star that the agency is investigating the incident. However, she declined to speak on if the deputies had body-camera footage and if investigators had viewed it.
According to the MBI, Jenkins was charged with assaulting an officer and drug possession. Parker was charged with possession of paraphernalia and disorderly conduct.
Jenkins’ lawyers said he has difficulty talking after being released from the University of Mississippi Medical Center on Wednesday. He spent several weeks in the intensive care unit on life support and had two surgeries. He suffered injuries to his mouth and head, and has permanent damage to eyesight and hearing, Shabazz said.
“They acted like my son wasn’t even human,” said Mary Jenkins, Michael’s mother.
