By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday launched a civil rights probe into the Rankin County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi after several of its former officers known as the "Goon Squad" were prosecuted for torturing and sexually abusing two Black men.
Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division, said the investigation will examine whether the Rankin County Sheriff's Department uses excessive force, routinely makes unlawful stops or searches, and whether it engages in racially discriminatory policing practices.
Clarke said the department's decision to launch the investigation was not triggered by a particular incident, though she acknowledged the infamous January 2023 home invasion assault by five former Rankin County and a sixth former narcotics investigator from another police force in the state.
In that incident, the officers entered a home without a warrant where they handcuffed, stripped, beat and sexually assaulted Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker. Both victims were also subjected to electric Taser shockers and waterboarding, as the officers screamed racial slurs at them.
The six former law enforcement officers were convicted for their crimes, and received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 45 years.
"Since the Goon Squad's sickening acts came to light, we have received reports of other instances indicating that this conduct was far too common," Clarke told reporters at a virtual press conference.
"Put simply, the concerns about the Rankin County Sheriff's Department did not end with the demise of the Goon Squad."
A representative from the Rankin County Sheriff's Department could not immediately be reached for comment.
This marks the 12th civil rights investigation launched by the Justice Department during President Joe Biden's term into systemic abuses by local law enforcement.