Several sheriff's deputies have been fired from a Mississippi sheriff’s department after two black men accused them of beating, torturing, and sexually violating them in a newly filed $400 million federal lawsuit. According to the complaint which will be filed in the Southern District of Mississippi, one of the men was nearly killed after one of the officers put a gun in the man's mouth and pulled the trigger.

The lawsuit names plaintiffs Michael Jenkins, 32, and Eddie Parker, 35, and the pair are going after the Rankin County Sheriff's Department and six deputies involved in the alleged assault. The lawsuit describes the men's interaction with the sheriff's deputies as “one of the worst and most bizarre incidents of police misconduct in United States history.”

Sheriff Bryan Bailey shared during a press conference that after the department conducted an internal investigation, the deputies involved in the case “have all been terminated.” Bailey, who is also named in the lawsuit, adds, “We understand that the alleged actions of the deputies have eroded the public’s trust in our department. Rest assured that we will work diligently to restore that trust.”

According to the lawsuit, Jenkins and Parker lived together in Rankin County, one of the state's most populated counties with a demographic breakdown of 74% white and nearly 23% Black residents according to recent census data. On Jan. 24, six Rankin County deputies, all of whom were white, barged into the men’s residence under the guise of a drug raid following reported drug activity in the home.

The men detail they were then handcuffed, thrown on the floor, and violently beaten and assaulted by the officers. The men accused the deputies of inflicting relentless blows for over 90 minutes. The men suffered alleged abuse including repeated shocks with police stun guns, sexual assault with an adult toy found in the home, waterboarding with milk, and other torturous abuse. Jenkins shares that the violence culminated when a deputy placed his handgun in Jenkins's mouth and fired; the shot did not kill Jenkins but left him with “permanent physical injuries, permanent cognitive damage, long-term psychological damage, permanent disfigurement, and impairment.” Jenkins also faces permanent nerve damage and numbness because of the assault.

According to an AP investigation, there is no recorded body camera footage of the event. However, automated taser records show that the officer’s tasers were deployed dozens of times during a 65-minute period. Hospital records show Jenkins was hospitalized for weeks and that he suffered a laceration in his tongue along with a broken jaw.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has also confirmed that a deputy shot Jenkins; however, no additional details have been provided regarding the shooting. According to the Plaintiffs’ legal team, the deputy who fired the gun is believed to be Deputy Hunter Elward. Elward was previously involved in the death of another 29-year-old Black man, Damian Cameron, in 2021. However, a grand jury did not indict Elward last year because of a lack of evidence.

The men are represented by Malik Shabazz and Trent Walker. The attorneys shared in a joint statement, "All citizens of Mississippi regardless of race, creed, or color are repudiating the criminal acts of these rogue deputies.” The statement goes on, “If there ever were a case where punitive damages needed to be levied against police officers, this is the case. This incredible, nasty, violent ordeal exposes that Rankin County deputies and the Department have had a long pattern and practice of deadly excessive force and hate crimes against its African American citizens.”

The FBI, the U.S. The Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division currently have opened investigations into the case. Meanwhile, the lawsuit is seeking $400 million in compensatory and punitive damages and details 22 claims of federal civil rights violations.