From [HERE] Mississippi sheriff's deputies already under investigation for possible civil rights violations after allegedly placing a gun in a Black man's mouth and firing it are now also being accused of attempting to assault him and a second Black man with a sex toy during an interrogation, according to The Associated Press.

The allegations are contained in a letter to the Justice Department written by Michael Corey Jenkins' attorney, who provided a copy to the AP. In it, attorney Malik Shabazz urges federal prosecutors to file civil rights charges against the deputies and to open a broader investigation into what he called the “unconstitutional customs and practices” of the entire sheriff’s office.

Jenkins has accused six deputies of breaking into a home where he was visiting a friend on Jan. 24, torturing them by various means, putting a gun in their mouths, and firing a gun into Jenkins’ mouth in an apparent attempt to murder him after nearly two hours of “torture.”

RANKIN COUNTY DEPUTIES ACCUSED OF TORTURE, WATERBOARDING On Jan. 24.

Jenkins and another victim, Eddie Terrell Parker, 35, were at a home in Braxton where Parker lives with the property owner when six white Rankin deputies conducting a drug investigation raided. Shabazz said they did not announce themselves or show a search warrant. They accused the men of selling drugs and later charged them with possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia, the attorney said. Deputies suddenly came into the home where Parker was living and proceeded to handcuff and beat them.

For 90 minutes, deputies exercised what Shabazz called intimidation and unjustified torture of Jenkins and Parker. The men were punched, kicked, slapped and tasered while handcuffed. They had guns pointed at them and were threatened with death, Shabazz said. Deputies shocked them repeatedly with stun guns over roughly 90 minutes. Police also waterboarded Jenkins and Parker by strapping them down while lying on their backs and pouring milk over their faces to simulate drowning.

Jenkins, who has trouble speaking and eating because of his injuries, said one of the deputies, who has not been named publicly, fired a gun into his mouth. Medical records he shared with the AP show he was treated for a lacerated tongue and broken jaw.

Both Jenkins and Parker also informed agents with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation that deputies stripped the two naked, forced them to take a shower together, and attempted to use a sex toy on them during an hourslong interrogation, according to the letter, which was accompanied by a photo of the toy.

“It was senseless and uncalled for,” Parker said at the news conference. “It was traumatizing and something I never thought I’d go through.” It ended when a deputy placed a gun in Jenkins’ mouth and pulled the trigger, Shabazz said. Jenkins could have died, but the bullet exited his mouth.

“This extreme case of police brutality warrants enforcement of the civil rights criminal laws on the books,” Shabazz said in a statement. “Sheriff Bryan Bailey and Rankin County are covering up the truth of what happened on Jan. 24, and all parties must be held accountable.”

In his Monday letter to Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department, Shabazz called for an inquiry into a “pattern and practice of police misconduct and police brutality” in Rankin County. Neither the sheriff's office nor an attorney representing the office responded to calls or an emailed list of questions about the allegations.

In a statement, the Justice Department said the civil rights probe into the Jenkins case is ongoing and declined to comment further.

An AP investigation published in March revealed that several Rankin County deputies had been involved in at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries. Two of the men, Jenkins included, allege that deputies shoved guns into their mouths during separate encounters.

Deputies have said Jenkins was shot after he pointed a gun at them. Shabazz has said his client didn’t have a gun.

Jenkins was charged with possessing between 2 and 10 grams of methamphetamine and aggravated assault on a police officer. Parker was charged with two misdemeanors: possession of paraphernalia and disorderly conduct. Agents with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation told the men they didn't expect the criminal charges against them to proceed, Shabazz wrote in his letter.

Meanwhile, “No deputy has been disciplined or terminated by Rankin County and all the deputies are still roaming the public at large,” Shabazz wrote.