New Haven native and Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell: Killed in line of duty.
A Minneapolis police officer who was shot and killed in the line of duty two weeks ago will be flown back to Connecticut on Wednesday so he can be buried in his home city of New Haven.
Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell, 36, died on May 30 in Minneapolis after being fatally shot by a 35-year-old man named Mustafa Mohamed.
Mitchell was reportedly looking to provide medical aid to Mohamed, who had previously been shot by someone else, when Mohamed shot and killed the officer. Another police officer then shot and killed Mohamed. Thousands gathered in Minneapolis on Tuesday for a memorial service honoring Mitchell.
In an email press release sent out on Monday, city police spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart wrote that Mitchell was a native of New Haven, and that his body will be flown back to Bradley Airport in Hartford on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
City and state police will then meet Mitchell’s family and “a contingent of officers from Minneapolis” at the airport and escort them all to the McClam Funeral Home on Dixwell Avenue.
Mitchell’s funeral, which is open to the public, will be held on June 17 at the Floyd Little Athletic Center, with viewing hours from 9 to 11 a.m. and the service beginning at 11 that day. Mitchell will then be buried at Evergreen Cemetery.
“It’s really important to recognize this officer for” the work he did and for his death in the line of duty, Police Chief Karl Jacobson said on Tuesday.
Mayor Justin Elicker said that Mitchell was a graduate of Wilbur Cross High School. He said he’s spoken with some of Mitchell’s family members, including his mom, in the wake of Mitchell’s death. He said that New Haven was and is a very important place for Mitchell’s family, even as Mitchell had moved to work in Minneapolis and his mom had also moved out of state.