In Taser Logs, a Practice That Long Went Unnoticed Is Revealed
An investigation found excessive Taser use in Mississippi to be widespread after reporters examined thousands of activations from department logs, many of which had never before been reviewed.
Brian Howey and Nate Rosenfield cover criminal justice issues in Mississippi as part of a New York Times fellowship focused on local investigations.
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For nearly 20 years, a group of deputies at the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department in Mississippi used Tasers to torture people they suspected of using and dealing drugs. The group of officers — known as the Goon Squad — would raid homes, accuse those inside of crimes and shock them until they offered information or confessed.
We brought the brutality to light in a 2023 investigation published through The New York Times’s Local Investigations Fellowship. But our reporting left us wondering: How were other law enforcement agencies in the state keeping tabs on their Taser use?
