Last two cops part of a Mississippi 'Goon Squad' who tortured two black men are sentenced to 27 and 10 years behind bars: Four other disgraced officers also incarcerated

The final two Mississippi law enforcement officers part of the 'Goon Squad' who tortured two black men have been sentenced to 27 and 10 years in prison, respectively. 

Brett McAlpin, 53, and Joshua Hartfield, 32, pleaded guilty last year to breaking into a home without a warrant and torturing two black men with a stun gun, a sex toy and other objects back in January 2023.

Former Rankin County Sheriff's deputy McAlpin offered an apology to victims Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker before US District Judge Tom Lee sentenced him to 27 years in prison on Thursday. 

Hartfield, who served as a Richland police officer and tried to destroy evidence of the torture, was ordered to serve almost 10 years behind bars. 

They are part of a group of six former law enforcement officers who admitted to subjecting Jenkins and Parker to numerous acts of racist torture. Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey called the crimes by his deputies the worst case of police brutality he had ever seen.

The final two former law enforcement officers, Brett McAlpin (left) and Joshua Hartfield (right), part of the 'Goon Squad' which racially tortured two black men have been sentenced to 27 and 10 years in prison, respectively

Michael Corey Jenkins (left) and Eddie Terrell Parker (right) stand with lead attorney Malik Shabazz, as they call on a federal judge Monday, March 18, to impose the harshest possible penalties to the officers

The officers charged in relation to the assault of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker were (Top L-R) Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, Christian Dedmon. (Bottom L-R) Hunter Elward, Daniel Opdyke, Joshua Hartfield

McAlpin wore a jumpsuit turned inside out to conceal the name of the jail where he is detained to the sentencing. 

'This was all wrong, very wrong. It's not how people should treat each other and even more so, it's not how law enforcement should treat people,' he told the court. 

'I'm really sorry for being a part of something that made law enforcement look so bad.'

McAlpin was the fourth highest-ranking officer at the Rankin County Sheriff's Office, a probation officer said in court.

Parker told investigators that McAlpin, who was off duty and not in uniform during the attack, functioned like a 'mafia don' as he instructed the officers throughout the evening.

In a statement read by his attorney Thursday, Jenkins said he 'felt like a slave' and was 'left to die like a dog.'

'If those who are in charge of the Rankin County Sheriff's Office can participate in these kinds of torture, God help us all. And God help Rankin County,' Jenkins said.

It comes after Christian Dedmon, 29, was sentenced to 40 years - the stiffest sentence - in prison on Wednesday for his role in the racist torture. 

Dedmon, the former Rankin County Sheriff's deputy, did not look at the victims during his sentencing as he apologized and said he'd never forgive himself for the pain he caused. 

Judge Lee said Dedmon carried out the most 'shocking, brutal and cruel attacks imaginable' against victims Jenkins and Parker as well as a white man Alan Schmidt during a traffic stop weeks earlier.

Jenkins, who still has trouble speaking due to his injuries, said in a statement read by his lawyer that Dedmon's actions were the most depraved of any of those who attacked him.

'Deputy Dedmon is the worst example of a police officer in the United States,' he said. 'Deputy Dedmon was the most aggressive, sickest and the most wicked.'

Hours before Dedmon's sentencing, former officer Daniel Opdyke, 28, cried profusely as he spoke in court before the judge announced his sentence of 17-and-a-half years.

Turning to look at the two victims, Opdyke said his isolation behind bars has given him time to 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 them. 'I wish I could take away your suffering.'

At a news conference Monday, Jenkins (pictured) and Parker said they continued to suffer as a result of what they endured

 Parker listens as his legal team calls on a federal judge at a news conference Monday 

Parker rested his head in his hands and closed his eyes, then stood up and left the courtroom before Opdyke finished speaking.

Jenkins said he was 'broken' and 'ashamed' by the cruel acts inflicted upon him.

Former Rankin deputy Hunter Elward, 31, was sentenced to 19-and-a-half years in prison on Tuesday while Jeffrey Middleton, 46, was ordered to serve 17 and a half years behind bars.

The judge said Opdyke may not have been fully aware of what being a member of the Goon Squad entailed when Lieutenant Jeffrey Middleton asked him to join, but he did know it involved using excessive force.

'You were not a passive observer,' Lee said. 'You actively participated in that brutal attack.'

The two black men who were subjected to torture that included one of them being shot in the mouth during a mock execution by a group of cops known as 'The Goon Squad' had previously said they wanted their tormentors to be punished to the full extent of the law.

The former cops admitted in August to subjecting Jenkins and Parker to numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture.

Prompted by a neighbor's complaint in January 2023 that Jenkins and Parker were staying in a home with a white woman, the group of six burst in without a warrant and assaulted Jenkins and Parker with stun guns, a sex toy and other objects.

After a mock execution went awry when Jenkins was shot in the mouth, they devised a coverup that included planting drugs and a gun.

Elward was also accused in a separate incident of beating a mentally ill black man to death in 2021.

They pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy against rights, obstructions of justice, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm under a crime of violence, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

The Rankin County Sheriff's Department initially supported the deputies' false charges, which stood against Jenkins and Parker for months.

Christian Dedmon, 29, was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Wednesday for his role in the racist torture

Former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy Hunter Elward was sentenced by US District Judge Tom Lee, who handed down a 241-month sentence on Tuesday

Daniel Opdyke, 28, has been sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison for his part in the racist torture of two black men by a group of white officers who called themselves the 'Goon Squad'

Jeffrey Middleton, 46, was ordered to serve 17-and-a-half years behind bars

'Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker continue to suffer emotionally and physically since this horrific and bloody attack by Rankin County deputies,' Malik Shabazz said in a statement.

'A message must be sent to police in Mississippi and all over America,' he said, that such criminal conduct 'will be met with the harshest of consequences.'

At a news conference Monday, Jenkins and Parker said they continued to suffer as a result of what they endured.

'It's been very hard for me, for us,' Jenkins said. 'We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.'

Shabazz said the false charges against the victims weren't dropped until June. That's when federal and state investigators began to close in on the deputies, and one of them began talking.

They were fired shortly thereafter, and prosecutors announced the federal charges in August.

Prosecutors say some of the officers nicknamed themselves the 'Goon Squad' because of their willingness to use excessive force and cover up attacks.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey called the crimes by his deputies the worst case of police brutality he had ever seen.

For months, Bailey said little about the episode. After the officers pleaded guilty in August, Bailey said the officers had gone rogue and promised to change the department.

Jenkins and Parker have called for his resignation, and they have filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department.

'I relive this every day,' Parker said. 'Every time I turn on the TV. Every time I get on the phone, every time I'm on social media, people are telling my story.'