MINNEAPOLIS— Jamal Mitchell’s friends remember him as a changemaker. His family knew him as a peacekeeper.
The 38-year-old Minneapolis police officer was determined to make the city a better place for all its residents.
“Jamal had a big heart,” said his mother, Janet Edwards. “He really loved people.”
Mitchell was killed in a mass shooting in the Whittier neighborhood of south Minneapolis on Thursday evening, killing two others, including the gunman. Four people were injured.
Officer Mitchell’s loss is especially felt in his Maple Grove neighborhood, where the streets are lined with American flags, trees are decorated with blue ribbons and porches glow with blue lights.
Neighbors said they are mourning the loss of a great guy.
“I saw his dad on TV talking to his mom. It just broke my heart,” said Christy Bailly of Minneapolis.
Bailly said she felt compelled to go to the memorial and pay her respects. Her husband wore the badge for four decades.
“I’ve had friends who have been killed or injured. It’s just becoming clear that things are getting worse,” said John Oberreuter, Bailly’s husband.
“What a hero and we are going to miss him,” Bailly said. “He was a great tribute to our city and his fellow officers.”
Police say he was trying to provide medical care to someone when that person shot him. He later died in hospital.
His parents said it was a shock to hear their son died doing what he loved, but at the same time that wasn’t the case.
“It was a career he wanted to pursue, and that’s what he chose to do,” said his stepfather, Dennis Edwards. “As they say, he never turned away from people, helped people, or was there to serve people.”
Mitchell grew up in New Haven, Connecticut; one of twelve children in a mixed family. He had a twin brother, Jamel, but he was the quieter of the two. His parents said he was the peacekeeper of the family.
“He always had a positive attitude about everything. He was never negative,” Janet Edwards said. “He would always turn that around and make it better for everyone.”
Janet and Dennis Edwards say Mitchell was proud to wear the uniform. He wanted to change relations between the community and the police.
Minneapolis Police Department
Mitchell was a regular at Lotus Restaurant in Loring Park, where he quickly became a favorite of everyone who worked there.
“He had that sense of humor and that human element that was easily approachable,” says Yoom Nguyen of Lotus Restaurant. “He goes to extremes, if that makes sense. You know you can count on him.’
Now there is an empty chair where Mitchell once enjoyed his favorite meal. Nguyen said Mitchell made sure people hanging outside the restaurant were treated with dignity and respect by connecting them with resources to improve their lives.
Civil rights activist Michael Wilson says MPD needs more officers like Mitchell.
‘He wanted to bring about change. Real change,” Wilson said. “We’ve talked a lot about these changes.”
Wilson said his courage, compassion and love for people will be remembered.
Mitchell’s parents want people to never forget their son’s sacrifice.
“I’m grateful that he went, that he did his job,” Janet Edwards said. “I want to say, ‘Well done Jamal. Well done, well done.’ I’m proud that he was my son.”
Mitchell was the father of three children: two boys and a girl. He was a fiancée, a brother, an uncle and a dear friend to many.
Reg Chapman
