Memorial growing for ‘hero,’ slain Minneapolis officer Jamal Mitchell
Jamal Mitchell didn’t waste any time making an impact on the community after he became a Minneapolis police officer. Last year, just days after he was sworn in, he and another officer rushed into a burning building to save an elderly couple.
On Thursday night, as he rushed to save a man who was injured in the street, he was shot and killed in what authorities called an ambush.
Friday, community members came to the Minneapolis Police Department’s Fifth Precinct to remember Mitchell and pay respects to a “hero.”
“Officer Jamal Mitchell, a hero, took his oath to the people of Minneapolis seriously—so seriously he sacrificed his life. When others run away from danger, police officers run towards it,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.
“He was a policeman’s policeman, you know what I’m saying? Young guy, fit, nicely dressed,” said Paul King, one of those who knew Mitchell and came out to the memorial for him on Friday.
King, a bus driver, said he often saw Mitchell on duty and felt comfortable because of his presence.
“It just hurt me real bad yesterday,” King said.
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Officers were called to a reported shooting in the 2200 block of Blaisdell Avenue at around 5:15 p.m. Thursday. Mitchell was one of the first officers at the scene and tried to help an injured man. However, while doing so, O’Hara says the man pulled a gun and started shooting Mitchell. Another officer was injured exchanging gunfire with the suspect, who also died.
Altogether, three people were killed — Mitchell, a victim connected to the initial shooting call and the suspected shooter — and four others were injured, including another officer and a firefighter. As of Friday afternoon, the firefighter had been released but the other three remained hospitalized.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating, and the names of the other victims and the suspected shooter haven’t yet been released.
The incident left many in the Whittier neighborhood shaken and the community grieving.
“He was courageous in every action that he did. He was a wonderful human being,” Assistant MPD Chief Katie Blackwell said of Mitchell.
“Minneapolis took a big loss, especially on our future,” King added. “We took a loss. He was a good person.”
“Jamal literally went into a burning building on his third day as a police officer to save an elderly couple. That’s the kind of man he was,” O’Hara said in a statement on Friday. “We mourn his death. We grieve for his family. We must never forget, above all, Jamal Mitchell is a hero.”
Memorial plans are expected to be released by the city in the coming days.
“He was young, he had a bright future,” Ravelle Dixon, of Minneapolis, said while looking at the growing memorial.
Dixon lives feet from where the shooting took place and is still coming to grips with what happened.
“To take his life like that… that’s really careless, that’s sad, that’s really sad,” he added about Officer Mitchell.
Anne Moretzka and her son dropped off flowers at the memorial and cookies for officers inside the Fifth Precinct.
“It’s been hard,” Moretzka said, adding she still has hope for her city. “I’ve lived in Minneapolis all my life and I know it can be better, and it will be better.”
The MN 100 Club has already approved a $50,000 contribution to Mitchell’s family, something the organization does to support fallen first responders’ loved ones. Additionally, the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS), and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) are collecting donations for Mitchell’s family online through the LELS Benevolent Fund. No other fundraisers for Mitchell have been verified at this time.
