Third white Mississippi officer sentenced to 17.5 years after pleading guilty in torture of 2 Black men

(NEW YORK) — Former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison during a hearing in federal court in Jackson, Mississippi on Wednesday for his role in torture of two Black men, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Opdyke is the third to be sentenced out of a group of six white former law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to a total of 16 felonies related to the January 2023 racially motivated torture and sexual assault of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, as well as a subsequent plan to cover up their crimes.

He cried during the sentencing, according to WAPT, and said that his time in prison so far has helped him reflect on “how I transformed into the monster I became that night.”

“The weight of my actions and the harm I’ve caused will haunt me every day,” Opdyke told the victims. “I wish I could take away your suffering.”

Former Rankin County, Mississippi, sheriff’s deputy Christian Dedmon is also set to be sentenced on Wednesday, are the third and fourth defendants to be sentenced in the case.

Former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies Hunter Elward was sentenced on Tuesday to 241 months, or about 20 years, while Jeffrey Middleton received a 17 1/2-year sentence for his role in the incident, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The remaining two officers who pleaded guilty in this case — former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Brett McAlpin and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield — are set to be sentenced during hearings on Thursday.

“These defendants will spend 20 years and 17.5 years in prison for their heinous attack on citizens they had sworn an oath to protect,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement on Tuesday following the first round of sentencing.

“The Justice Department will hold accountable officers who violate constitutional rights, and in so doing, betray the public trust,” his statement concluded.

In their guilty pleas, the six former law enforcement officers admitted to breaking into a home where Jenkins and Parker were residing without a warrant after a white neighbor reported that the men were staying with a white woman and alleged “suspicious” activity. They then proceeded to arrest the two men “without probable cause” that they committed any crimes, according to the DOJ.

Some of the defendants were part of a group of shift officers who called themselves “The Goon Squad” because of their “willingness to use excessive force and not report it,” according to charging documents. The group was summoned by Dedmon to the home where Jenkins and Parker were residing, according to the DOJ, after McAlpin asked him to investigate.

During the incident, the officers beat Jenkins and Parker, mocked them with racial slurs, sexually assaulted them with a sex toy, forced them to strip naked and shower together and shocked them with Tasers for roughly 90 minutes while handcuffed, according to court documents obtained by ABC News. Jenkins was also shot in the mouth by Elward, per the DOJ.

Following the incident, the two victims faced false charges for months, according to the DOJ, stemming from the officers’ plan to cover up their actions by tampering with and planting evidence, including drugs and a gun.

ABC News has reached out to the officers but requests for comment were not returned.

Jenkins and Parker, along with their attorney Malik Shabazz, told reporters on Monday that they have been struggling with the enduring trauma of the brutal attack. Following Elward’s sentencing on Tuesday, the two men told Jackson ABC affiliate WAPT that justice has been done.

Elward, who pleaded guilty to the most serious charge in the indictment — discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence — stood up in the courtroom and apologized to the victims, according to WAPT, saying, “I hate myself for it. I accept my responsibility.”

Parker stood up and told Elward that he forgives him, and later that afternoon told WAPT that while he forgives “what is done,” Elward “still did what he did and he has to be punished.”

Asked if he also forgives Elward, Jenkins told WAPT, “I don’t know. No, no, because if he wouldn’t have got caught, he’d still be doing the same thing.”

The charges the officers pleaded guilty to include civil rights conspiracy, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. They also pleaded guilty to similar state charges and are awaiting sentencing in the state case. State sentences will be served concurrently.

Dedmon, Elward and Opdyke also pleaded guilty to three additional federal felony offenses related to a separate incident that took place on Dec. 4, 2022, per the DOJ.

The U.S. The Department of Justice launched an investigation into the incident in Feb. 2023, along with the FBI, amid outrage from the community and as attorneys for Jenkins and Parker filed a notice of claim for a $400 million federal lawsuit.

“It’s in court, and we’re fighting,” Shabazz told ABC News on Monday when asked about the status of the lawsuit.

In an October 2023 response to the complaint obtained by ABC News, the officers denied the allegations alleged in the lawsuit.

ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.

 

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