Mississippi Sheriff's Office to conduct review after details of 'Goon Squad' message group revealed in news report

The Rankin County Sheriff's Office said it will conduct a review and analysis after a report Wednesday by The New York Times and Mississippi Today detailed messages in an encrypted WhatsApp group conversation between known members of the “Goon Squad” and other law enforcement officers, some of whom are still employed by the county.

The “Goon Squad” was the name a group of deputies gave themselves because of their willingness to use excessive force and not report it, federal prosecutors said in court documents.

Some messages speak of brutality and humiliation of suspects, as well as exchanges of disturbing crime scene photos and photos of “decomposing corpses,” according to the report.

In one exchange during a 2022 domestic violence arrest, then-deputy Hunter Elward wrote, “Did you tase him in the face!?

Goon Squad member Daniel Opdyke asked if they shocked the man in the anus.

Another deputy said the suspect allegedly “got more affections,” appearing to indicate they held back because of potential witnesses, saying, “All the neighbors were outside and watching.”

Members of the chat “also discussed taking nude photos of a woman they had arrested,” the Times reported.

Another exchange talks about deputies getting “points” for shooting someone.

The “report on a WhatsApp group chat allegedly contains information from the private mobile phone of a former MP. Since we cannot force any employee to provide their private cell phone data, we have asked The New York Times to use the full private text thread as part of an internal review and analysis,” said an attorney for the Rankin County Sheriff's Office. a statement to CNN.

“There are three people who remain employed in this department who were added to this private chat group by a former lawmaker, and none are alleged to have violated anyone's constitutional rights or committed a criminal act,” indicates the press release.

Former deputies and Goon Squad members Elward, Opdyke and Jeffrey Middleton all participated in the discussion reviewed by the Times and Mississippi Today. Former MP Brett McAlpin is also mentioned in one exchange, according to the report.

McAlpin, Middleton, Elward and Opdyke, along with former deputy Christian Dedmon and Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield all pleaded guilty to the sexual assault and kidnapping of two innocent black men, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, in Rankin County in January 2023. are serving concurrent state and federal prison sentences.

The planning of the attacks against Jenkins and Parker took place on WhatsApp, according to the Justice Department. It is unclear whether the group chat referenced by the Justice Department is the same one reported by the Times and Mississippi Today.

CNN did not obtain the full panel discussion described in the report.

One member of the group chat, who no longer works for the sheriff's department, called his messages “absolutely just jokes” in an interview with The New York Times.

Neither the department nor Sheriff Bryan Bailey “were aware of the existence of a team of officers who called themselves the 'Goon Squad' until a briefing memo was filed in federal court “, says the press release from the sheriff’s office.

The statement continued: “It was also at this time that we learned that the five former deputies were coordinating their criminal activities via private text messages, likely in an effort to avoid detection by this department and Sheriff Bailey. “

In March, after the former law enforcement officers' convictions, CNN spoke with attorney Jeff Reynolds, who represents Opdyke. Reynolds noted that Opdyke cooperated in the case by sharing the encrypted WhatsApp text messages.

“The explanation by some that they were simply joking about torturing people in what they thought were secret WhatsApp texts rings hollow given the multiple incidents of torture that have now been documented,” Reynolds said Wednesday in a statement to CNN about the latest information. report.

CNN reached out to attorneys for the other Goon Squad members who allegedly participated in the chat for comment, but did not receive a response.

Malik Shabazz, lead attorney for Jenkins and Parker, said “the latest revelations regarding text messages from Rankin County, Mississippi's 'Goon Squad' are not at all surprising.”

“For years, the lawlessness of Rankin County deputies, especially the night shift, had become notorious among residents. Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker were not shot and tortured in isolation. There will be much more to come,” Shabazz said.

“It was just incredible,” Angela English, president of the Rankin County chapter of the NAACP, told CNN of the report. “What I have read is extremely worrying…we will not give up the fight. »

Mary Asa Lee, communications director for Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, told CNN in an email that the office does not “comment on open investigations.”

The office of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Todd Gee also declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.

But earlier this month, Gee, along with members of his criminal and civil rights divisions, hosted a listening session in Rankin County inviting residents to share their stories of police misconduct.

“We know from members of the public who have already called … that there have been many other incidents here in Rankin County over the years,” Gee said. “I cannot stress enough, please let us know what happened to you, what happened to your friends, what happened to your family.”

CNN's Ryan Young contributed to this report.

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