Attorney, residents, allege abuse by Rankin County Sheriff's Department. What we know

More than 100 people turned out Saturday afternoon for a Town Hall Meeting in Brandon to hear complaints of alleged misconduct toward Black citizens by deputies with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department.

Called by the Rankin County branch of the NAACP, the meeting featured remarks by Trent Walker, an attorney representing several families in an announced their intent to file a $400 million federal civil rights lawsuit.

In a Monday morning press conference in Jackson, Attorney Malik Z. Shabazz of Black Lawyers For Justice, who has been working with Walker on the case, said the suit was being filed that day. He said defendants named in the 60-page complaint are Rankin County, Sheriff Bryan Bailey, and deputies Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Christian Dedmon and three unknown deputies.

Jenkins 1 Complaint by the kingfish

During the Saturday meeting, Walker and NAACP branch president Angela H. English said discussions over the proposed litigation have been instituted with Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. They both said they expect the federal agency will be involved in the lawsuit.

Walker detailed a long list of grievances about Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey and the department, including what he said have been several inmate deaths with “no transparency and no accountability.”

Bailey did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment for this story.

Most of Saturday’s remarks concerned two particular incidents, which Walker alleged would be key elements of evidence in a pending lawsuit.

First alleged incident

On Jan. 24, Walker said that Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell claim five white deputies entered their Braxton-area home without a warrant. They said the deputies shocked them repeatedly with stun guns and, at one point, forced them to lie on their backs as the deputies poured milk over their faces.

The men also alleged the deputies attempted to assault them with a sex toy they found while searching the home. Jenkins said the encounter culminated with a deputy placing a gun in his mouth and firing, which resulted in a lacerated tongue and a broken jaw.

Deputies said the raid was prompted by a report of drug activity at the home. Jenkins was charged with possessing between 2 and 10 grams of methamphetamine and aggravated assault on a police officer. Parker was charged with two misdemeanors: possession of paraphernalia and disorderly conduct.

Walker said Saturday, however, that he believes the real reason for excessive force was that the white deputies were “set off” because one of the men was dating a white woman. He also claimed the only weapon found at the property was a BB gun and that deputies had turned their body cams off during the entirety of the incident to cover up evidence.

Second alleged incident

On July 26, 2021, deputies were dispatched in response to a report of vandalism, also in the Braxton area. Following an apparent disagreement, Damien Cameron, a 29-year-old Black man with a history of mental issues had been “busting holes” in the wall of a neighbor’s house using a pipe, according to reports. He had gone to the house to ask the neighbor if he could perform some yard work for money, the reports states.

Following a prolonged pursuit in which Cameron was trying to run and resist arrest, his mother, Monica Lee said a deputy knelt on Cameron's back for around “15 to 20 minutes” while waiting for backups. During that time she said Cameron complained that he could not breathe.

Deputies allegedly locked Cameron in a patrol car as he continued to resist and complain of not being able to breathe, Lee said.

When the deputies returned to the car after collecting evidence they found Cameron unresponsive and attempted to perform CPR. He was later pronounced dead at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The state medical examiner said his cause of death was “inconclusive” and a Rankin County grand jury declined to indict the officers involved.

Walker alleges, however, that the death over a misdemeanor charge was the result of what he believes was excessive force by deputies. He also claimed there is evidence of an “established pattern” by two white deputies involved in both incidents.

Both Lee and Mary Jenkins, the mother of Michael Corey Jenkins were among those present on stage Saturday.Also addressing the meeting was Marquell Bridges, a Laurel native who serves as founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization “Building Bridges for Community Unity and Progress.”

He described his group as a grassroots organization that works to provide resources and find legal representation for families impacted by police misconduct. “Anything to bring them justice, that’s what I do,” Bridges said. He said the alleged events in Rankin County “are not isolated” but happen throughout the US. “I am overjoyed that you are here willing to listen to these families,” he said.

English, who welcomed guests on behalf of the NAACP, said the alleged mistreatment of Blacks in Rankin County “has been going on for many years.” She said not all sheriff’s deputies are bad but said, “We need to make sure they are accountable for their actions.” She said the department needs to serve and protect all people in the county — ”not just a select few.” She said she “personally” had invited Bailey to attend Saturday’s meeting. However, no uniformed officers were present.

With a population of approximately 157,000 of which more than 71% are white, Rankin County has the smallest Black population (about 21%) of any county in the Jackson Metropolitan Area. By comparison, neighboring Hinds County with a population of about 228,000 is 69% Black, while Madison County with a population of 109,000 is 35% Black.

Saturday’s meeting was held at Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church on Trickhambridge Road. Church Pastor, the Rev. Ava Harvey provided an invocation for the event while Rev. Ricky Sutton, Pastor of Mt. Carmel Ministries in Pearl provided closing remarks and a prayer.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Police misconduct alleged at Rankin County MS Sheriff's Department