The men will seek $400 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
On Tuesday, a press release revealed a Federal civil rights lawsuit against the Mississippi sheriff’s department, which was filed by two African-American men after one of them he was shot in the mouth by a law enforcement officer.
The men who filed the suit, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parkerhad a run-in with Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputies in January.
Attorney Malik Shabazz said he would file 22 claims of federal civil rights violations in the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi by Monday. The men will seek $400 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
“If ever there was a case where punitive damages had to be awarded to police officers, this is it. This incredible, ugly, and violent ordeal exposes that Rankin County officers and the Department have had a long-standing pattern and practice of deadly excessive force and hate crimes against its African-American citizens,” attorney Shabazz wrote in the statement.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has confirmed that an officer shot Jenkinsbut the agency has not identified the officer or released any other details about the case.
However, Parker, Shabazz and attorney Trent Walker told The Associated Press it was Officer Hunter Elward, based in part on a separate court document in which the officer swore the man had pointed a gun at him.
On the night of January 24, six white Rankin County officers burst into the house where Parker and Jenkins lived.. They proceeded to handcuff them, beat them, and then repeatedly shock them with stun guns for approximately 90 minutes. At one point, they were forced to lie on their backs while officers poured milk in their faces.
The men also said that the agents tried to assault them with a sex toy they found while searching the house. Jenkins said that the encounter culminated when an agent placed a gun in his mouth and fired.
Jenkins he was hospitalized for weeks and his medical records show that he suffered a lacerated tongue and a broken jaw.
Agents said the raid was triggered 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, while Parker was charged with two misdemeanors: possession of paraphernalia and disorderly conduct.
Because agents have not said if they obtained a warrant to search the house, the lawsuit will allege that the deputies entered illegally.
There is also no body camera footage of the incident, but automated Taser records obtained by The AP show that the Tasers were turned on, off or used dozens of times over a period of about 65 minutes.
An AP investigation in March revealed that several Rankin County Sheriff’s Department deputies have been involved in at least four violent encounters with black men since 2019, including the one between Jenkins and Parker, which also left two dead.
The allegations against the officers have prompted a Justice Department investigation into the encounter.
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