A man who was brutalized by Rankin County Sheriff’s deputies during a traffic stop filed a federal lawsuit against the county Tuesday evening.

Alan Schmidt, who filed the lawsuit, said Rankin County deputies beat and sexually assaulted him in late 2022. Three of the involved deputies were sentenced to federal and state prison terms last year, in part for their role in the incident. They are also defendants in the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, which represents one side of a legal argument, Schmidt alleged that the department was responsible for a pattern of misconduct by deputies and jail guards, listing several other lawsuits against deputies and county jail guards.

While he’s seeking an unspecified amount of compensation for his own pain and suffering, he said he is also filing the lawsuit

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