July 2024. Blues Vol 40 No.7

AROUND THE COUNTRY

AROUND THE COUNTRY MINNEAPOLIS, MN. Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell was shot and killed after being ambushed while responding to a shooting call. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis police officer who was killed by a man he was trying to help at the site of a shooting was memorialized Tuesday as a hero who exemplified the type of public servant the city’s police force has been trying to recruit amid years of turmoil. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told those gathered at a service for Officer Jamal Mitchell, 36, that he will be remembered as a hero in the city forever. Frey, Police Chief Brian O’Hara, family members, friends and fellow officers described a man whose high ethical standards led him to Minneapolis, and perhaps even to his death at the hands of a person he was trying to save. “It’s notable that he chose the profession of policing post- 2020,” Frey said. “It’s even more notable that he affirmatively chose Minneapolis. Of all the places in the world, of all the professions in the world, of all the cities in the world, he chose us. Officer Jamal Mitchell was here for a reason.” Investigators are calling the May 30 shooting of Mitchell an ambush. They said he was responding to a call about a double shooting when he tried to help a man he believed was injured. That man shot Mitchell multiple times. Three other people, including the gunman, were killed. Mitchell had been with the Minneapolis Police Department for about 18 months. His killing stunned a department that has struggled to fill its ranks since the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing turmoil. Officers from across the state and nation attended the service at a high school in the suburb of Maple Grove. Tori Myslajek, Mitchell’s longterm partner and fiance, said Mitchell’s greatest joys were his four children. “Our family is completely devastated by our recent loss. Jamal was our whole world,” Myslajek said in a statement. “Jamal and I created a beautiful life in Minnesota, and he was deeply passionate about helping and serving the community of Minneapolis.” A procession of law enforcement officers escorted Mitchell’s American flag-draped casket into the high school gym and paced it beside a portrait of Mitchell. Above his casket, a photo slideshow showed him enjoying ski trips, football games and evenings at home with family and friends. Mitchell was born on Feb. 12, OFFICER JAMAL MITCHELL 1988, in New Haven, Connecticut, according to an obituary handed out at his funeral. He enjoyed sharing his love of basketball with his children. His pickup basketball teammates called him “the glue that held it all together.” Mitchell was previously lauded by the Minneapolis Police Department for rescuing an elderly couple from a house fire on his third day on the job. He was posthumously awarded the department’s two highest honors, a Medal of Honor and a Purple Heart. 30 The Blues - July ‘24

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