Corpse photos and jokes about assault: Inside the Mississippi ‘Goon Squad’ WhatsApp chat
The so-called ‘Goon Squad’ came to national attention in January 2023, after deputies in Rankin County Sheriff’s Office were accused of brutally torturing two Black men
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
The harrowing contents of the so-called “Goon Squad” WhatsApp chat have been revealed, including how a group of Mississippi police officers joked about rape, shared pictures of rotting corpses, and traded tips on terrorizing suspects.
The messages shared by the men were mixed in with vacation photos and invitations to family cookouts, with the sheriff’s deputies posting in plain view of their supervisor, who occasionally joined in.
A private text message thread, obtained as part of an investigation by Mississippi Today and The New York Times, provided a years-long record of day-to-day conversations of the officers.
The “Goon Squad” came to national attention in January 2023, after deputies in Rankin County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) were accused of brutally torturing two Black men in their home, shooting one of them in the face, in a mock execution gone awry.
Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker were handcuffed and arrested – without probable cause to believe they had committed any crime – then racially abused, beaten, tasered and assaulted with sex toys.
Six officers were charged over the horrific incident, including three from “The Goon Squad” – Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke.
The other RSCO officers charged were Chief Investigator Brett McAlpin and Narcotics Investigator Christian Dedmon as well as narcotics investigator Joshua Hartfield from Richland Police Department.
The “Goon Squad” was described at the time as a group of RCSO officers who were known for “using excessive force and not reporting it.” All six men pleaded guilty and were sentenced to federal prison in March.
However, according to the joint investigation by MT and The Times, nearly two dozen residents experienced similar brutality to that experienced by Mr Jenkins and Mr Parker. The conversations about violence and off-color remarks went back years and involved multiple others who have not been arrested.
According to the outlets, in May 2022, a picture of a man’s body, found decomposing in the impoverished neighborhood of Robinhood, was posted to the group. “That’s hot,” one officer, Deputy Hunter Cook, wrote.
“Poke him with a stick,” replied Middleton.
Another offered the officer who posted the photo five dollars to take a selfie with his arm around the dead body, according to Mississippi Today.
Mr Cook, who no longer works in law enforcement, said that while he was not proud of his texts, it is common for police officers to exchange off-color jokes about their work. “We see dead bodies all the time,” he told Mississippi Today. “That’s kind of how we deal with stuff.”
In May 2022, deputies texted about roughing up a man arrested on suspicion of domestic violence.
“Did you Tase him in the face!?” said Elward. Opdyke asked if they had shocked the man in the anus.
“All the neighbors were outside watching,” Mr Cook responded in the chat, adding that if they had been in a more secluded area, the suspect would have “gotten more lovings.”
Opdyke’s lawyer later told Mississippi Today that, while he had been unable to immediately reach his client, – “obviously Tasing somebody in the anus is wrong and very disturbing.”
Disturbing topics of conversation were commonplace for years. In 2020 the deputies discussed kidnapping a man suspected of being in a hit-and-run incident, killing him, and then burying his body on a property belonging to one of the deputies.
Middleton suggested they dump the man’s body in nearby Jackson, Mississippi. “They’ll never solve it,” he said.
In an interview with Mississippi Today, group member Cody Grogan called his texts in the group chat “a poor decision” and said, “I’ve never kidnapped anybody and I’ve never shot anybody.”
In another 2020 text exchange, two deputies asked Middleton if they could beat a man they believed had exposed himself to women at local gas stations. “That’s fine just justify it good in your report,” he replied.