Six former police officers in Mississippi, all white, have pleaded guilty to a series of felonies against two black men in January of this year.
“This is the most horrific case of police brutality I have heard of in my entire career and I am ashamed that it happened in this department,” said Bryan Bailey, local sheriff.
The six men, who were police officers at the time, were called in January to a house in Rankin County, Mississippi, by a neighbor who was concerned that two black men were there.
The police allegedly kicked in the door to the house and handcuffed the men.
“The defendants punched and kicked the men, used a stun gun on them 17 times, forced them to drink liquids and abused them with a dildo,” says a press release.
The assault ended with one of the victims being shot through the mouth and throat. Then the police officers allegedly hid and destroyed evidence and talked to each other about how the sequence of events should be described instead of giving the bleeding man first aid.
“The defendants in this case tortured and inflicted untold harm on their victims, grossly violated the civil rights of the residents they swore to protect, and violated the oath they took as law enforcement officers,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The six defendants have all been fired from the police and risk prison sentences between 80 and 120 years as well as multimillion-dollar damages.