RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – Local activists are reacting to the release of the new policy changes at the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office. This comes after six former officers pled guilty to torturing two Black men in January.

The department revamped its patrol policy and procedure manual. Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said many of those policies are now on the department’s website.

Angela English, the president of the Rankin County NAACP, said the changes are too little, too late from Bailey.

“The only change that I can see that would really help Rankin County is for him to step down at this point. To be perfectly honest, the fact that a man of his age and during this time would have not come in and made those changes initially, that’s very disappointing and shows poor leadership,” English stated.

Bailey said they have hired an internal affairs investigator from outside of the department and will expand the Compliance Division to include additional internal affairs investigators.

WJTV 12 News reached out to the sheriff’s office about the policy changes, and Bailey said they want more changes in place before they address the media.