- U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan dismissed the initial $400 million lawsuit on Wednesday after the $2.5 million settlement was reached.
According to the attorney for the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, a $2.5 million settlement has been reached in the lawsuit against Rankin County and Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey in what has become known as the “Goon Squad” case.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan dismissed the initial $400 million lawsuit on Wednesday after the settlement was reached.
The civil lawsuit was brought by Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker in June 2023 against the department after it was revealed that the two men were beat and tortured by five members of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department and one Richland Police officer.
All have pleaded guilty to numerous civil rights violations and were sentenced to decades in prison on federal and state charges.
A warrantless raid commenced in early 2023 when the officers entered the Braxton home and handcuffed the two men, tortured them, and threatened to sodomize at least one of the men with a sex toy. Jenkins was shot through the jaw and neck after one of the officers shoved his weapon into the man’s mouth.
READ MORE: The ‘Goon Squad’ torture of Eddie Parker & Michael Jenkins cries out for uncomfortable reckoning
The settlement announced on Thursday means Rankin County will pay $500,000 for the resolution while the county’s insurance will pay the remaining $2 million.
Attorney Jason Dare said in a statement that the Rankin County Sheriff’s budget will not increase and “the citizens of Rankin County are not going to be impacted by the settlement of this case.”
Dare noted that the settlement is not an admission of guilt on the part of the county or the Sheriff’s Department.
