(Rankin Co., Mississippi) Deputies in civil rights probe accused of sexual assault

Source: Associated Press

Deputies in civil rights probe accused of sexual assault

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG
May 8, 2023

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi sheriff’s deputies already under investigation for possible civil rights violations after allegedly placing a gun in a Black man’s mouth and firing it are now also being accused of attempting to assault him and a second Black man with a sex toy during an interrogation, The Associated Press has learned.

The allegations are contained in a letter to the Justice Department written by Michael Corey Jenkins’ attorney, who provided a copy to the AP. In it, attorney Malik Shabazz urges federal prosecutors to file civil rights charges against the deputies and to open a broader investigation into what he called the “unconstitutional customs and practices” of the entire sheriff’s office.

Jenkins has accused six deputies of bursting into a home where he was visiting a friend on Jan. 24, putting a gun in his mouth, and firing after nearly two hours of “torture.”

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In his Monday letter to Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department, Shabazz called for an inquiry into a “pattern and practice of police misconduct and police brutality” in Rankin County. Neither the sheriff’s office nor an attorney representing the office responded to calls or an emailed list of questions about the allegations.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-sheriffs-office-civil-rights-investigation-fb83f565d2f3e58da4b978077f5b7d67