TUPELO, Miss.—Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey should resign, Democratic candidate for Mississippi Attorney General Greta Kemp Martin said at a press conference in Tupelo, Miss., on Sept. 22.
Last month, six white Rankin County officers pleaded guilty to state and federal charges for the physical and sexual assault of two Black men, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker. The officers called themselves the “goon squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force.
If elected, Martin said she would launch an investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department “especially if the current administration does not resign.”
“We believe that the current administration had knowledge of what was happening with the Rankin County six,” she said.
A lawsuit Jenkins and Parker filed against the six officers, Rankin County and the sheriff alleges that Bailey “failed to reprimand” the officers for previous violence against citizens.
“(Bailey) directly participates in acts of excessive force with the deputies he supervises and has been denied qualified immunity by this court,” the lawsuit alleges.
It also alleges that officers did not turn on their body cameras in several cases, including on Jan. 24, 2023—the date when Rankin County deputies Brett McAlpin, Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Daniel Opdyke and Jeffry Middleton joined off-duty Richland officer Joshua Hartfield in raiding Jenkins’ and Parker’s Braxton, Miss., home without a warrant.
“Bailey created a custom that Rankin Deputies were permitted to turn off body-worn cameras to cover up their misdeeds,” the lawsuit alleges.
Sheriff Bailey: ‘I’m Going To Stay Here’
Mississippi law does not require officers to wear body cameras, but Martin said if elected, she would help push legislation to mandate body cameras for police officers. The attorney general cannot make laws but can interpret existing laws and make recommendations to lawmakers about laws the state needs to put in place. Officers should wear and turn on their body cameras for “transparency and accountability,” she said.
“We will ensure that the footage is regularly reviewed in incidents involving abuse of force or misconduct,” Martin said.
Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, pictured, said in an Aug. 3, 2023, press conference
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