Live: MPD’s Jamal Mitchell posthumously given medal of honor, Purple Heart during 85-minute service

1:58 p.m. Greg Anzelc of Maple Grove grabbed two flags — one from the front of his house and one from the back — and rode them over on his motorcycle to the Weaver Lake overpass with his daughter to show support for first responders. Tying them to the fence, he said the death of an officer from the community hit home. ”We’re all here to show the family and all first responders that the community supports them, the state supports them.”

1:40 p.m. Kris Foley and daughters, Erin, 8, and Cara, 6, stationed themselves on the overpass over I-94 at Weaver Lake Road. They waved flags as they waited for the procession to start. “Our dad is a police officer. He works next to Minneapolis,” said Erin Foley, 8, explaining they also go to school with Mitchell’s children and wanted to show support. Their dad, a Robbinsdale officer, was among those from neighboring agencies patrolling Minneapolis so MPD officers could attend the funeral, Kris Foley said. ”We just want to make sure that that family feels supported and they can feel the support,” Kris said.

1:15 p.m. A rifle volley is fired in salute, and a single helicopter flew over the gathered crowd. A final call was issued for Officer Jamal Mitchell, badge 4819.

1:11 p.m. Dean Scheidler, a retired FBI special agent who was with the bureau for 31 years, stood outside the service near firetrucks holding an American flag. He was there in solidarity and support.

“The circumstances of his killing, the way he lived his life, it’s not overstated to use the word hero,” he said, adding that he is a “firm believer that the profession has been done a disservice” by community members and council members that call for defunding police.

“I feel like the police need to have more advocates. They need to be stronger advocates for themselves and they need community leaders and the public to be stronger advocates for them. You only see it when there’s a funeral … and it needs to happen all the time every day in every interaction. The police have to earn that respect in the way they deal with people, but we have to give them the benefit of the doubt.”

12:50: The service concludes. Mitchell’s family exited, followed by Gov. Tim Walz, Mayor Jacob Frey, Police Chief Brian O’Hara and other dignitaries. Many clutched blue and white roses as they left. Attached was the message “forever in our hearts” and Mitchell’s badge number.

Bagpipers played as Mitchell’s fellow officers filed out the back of the school and lined up in anticipation of the procession of more than 30 miles to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Mitchell’s body will be flown back to his native Connecticut this week for a service there and burial.

12:49 p.m. The Rev. Mike Emmert gave the closing prayer and thanked God for “how you take something that is evil and turn it into something that is good.” The color guard then escorted the flags out.

12:20 p.m. Mitchell’s neighbor Chris Dunker, whom Mitchell always greeted with a “Hey, Dunk!” recalled his friend’s boundless friendliness and energy. The day after Mitchell died, neighbors met to grieve. One stood up and said even if offered $1 million, they couldn’t say a negative thing about their friend.

“What does that say about his character and reputation? It tells me he is exactly the officer we need more of in our community,” he said. He told Mitchell’s partner, Tori Myslajek, that although Mitchell’s service has ended, “It’s just the beginning of our service to your family. We love you and are here for you now and forever.”

“Jamal, I’ll miss seeing you play in the yard with your kids, I’ll miss you saying ‘Hey, Dunk!’ and most of all I’ll miss your bigger-than-life personality. But know this: At least twice a day every day, every day, I’ll be thinking of you and that big bright Colgate smile.”

Dunker then pulled out of his suit jacket a box of the toothpaste, stirring a laugh among those in attendance.

12:10 p.m. Minneapolis officer Luke Weatherspoon said the last time he saw Mitchell, his friend and fellow Police Academy classmate, was the morning of the day he was killed.

”I had to work late that morning. I was not happy about it,” he said, adding that he had finished his reports and was on his way out. “I saw Mitch standing in the hallway of the precinct. The anger that I harbored quickly dissipated. We made eye contact. We looked at each other for a second, and I said, ‘Goofball Jamal.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Dookie Lukey.’”

“The day before he was taken from us,” Weatherspoon said, “he put on a pair of his prized Nikes from his extensive shoe collection and took his kids to the pool.” While poolside, the officer continued, Mitchell saw a kid “who was struggling to stay above the water. Jamal jumped in, still wearing his favorite pair of Nikes on his feet, to save the child. Jamal was the kind of guy who saw someone in distress and everything else went out the window.”

Weatherspoon recounted how Mitchell dashed into a burning house in his first days as an officer and saved two people’s lives. ”When Jamal ran into that house as it was burning on fire, he got all the smoke that day. Jamal always talked about it like it wasn’t a big deal. I asked him if before he went in there, he knew for sure if there was somebody in there. He looked at me and shrugged. He said, ‘The house was on fire, and someone maybe needed help.’ When it came to Jamal, and someone needed help, everything else went out the window.”

11:56 a.m. O’Hara lauded Minneapolis police officers for doing dangerous jobs every day “despite the rhetoric” and negative perception of police.

“We have learned Jamal Mitchell was an exceptional human being, but we know he was not an exception,” O’Hara said. “It is not how he he died that makes him truly heroic, it was his life as he lived as a man until the very end.”

11:52 a.m. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara tells mourners Mitchell has been posthumously bestowed the two highest honors in the department: the Medal of Honor and Purple Heart.

“I’ve said this since the day he died and I will say this every day for as long as I live, Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell represented all that is good about the men and women of the Minneapolis Police Department and police departments around this state and this country.”

O’Hara said functioning democracies need guardians, and “Jamal was the epitome of a guardian of our community. Jamal was courageous to his very core. He was empathetic and deeply committed to the cause and mission of police officers in our country. He was heroic as a man until the very end.”

11:50 a.m. Mayor Jacob Frey is the first to eulogize Mitchell, saying that “he exemplified the very best of our city. He was a hero. He was loved. … We all loved him right back.” Frey noted that Mitchell “chose the profession of policing post-2020,” a reference to the police killing of George Floyd in south Minneapolis. “Of all the cities, he chose us. Officer Jamal Mitchell was here for a reason.”

“And to Officer Mitchell: On behalf of the residents and everyone who has stepped foot in the city of Minneapolis, thank you. We will never forget the sacrifice you made. You lived a hero. You died a hero, and you will be remembered as a hero in our city forever.”

11:41 a.m. “Jamal, yes he wanted to make a difference, yes he wanted to be a game changer, so today his family and friends are here, and we collectively agree that this was Jamal’s purpose, to reach down and pick you up,” Raper said. “Through a wave as I rode in a cruiser to check with the community, this was Jamal’s purpose; this was Jamal’s assignment; this was Jamal’s mission. And through our tears and heavy heart we collectively say: ‘Mission accomplished.’”

11:35 a.m. Mitchell’s “Aunt DeeDee,” Denise Raper, read the 23rd Psalm with its message of eternal rest, peace and comfort. She then thanked Mayor Frey, Chief O’Hara, Assistant Chief Katie Blackwelland others in Mitchell’s home state of Connecticut: “On behalf of the family we thank thee. Every card, every note, every story made us smile and cry.”

11:30 a.m. The gathering was greeted by the Rev. Mike Emmert, of Eagle Brook Church in Wayzata. “Welcome to the celebration of the life of Jamal Mitchell,” Emmert said before also welcoming the officers’ family and others, while thanking the law enforcement in attendance “for protecting us.”

11:28 a.m. The service began with “the posing of the colors,” with officers bringing to the stage the American, Minnesota and Minneapolis Police Department flags. They were flanked by two officers ceremonially holding rifles.

11:25 a.m. The start of the service was being delayed as the gym continued to fill with officers, family, friends and those who had no direct connection to Mitchell but were there to pay their respects.

11:10 a.m. A woman walking by the high school who declined to give her name said she lives in the area, and residents feel shaken by Mitchell’s death. “It has to stop,” the woman said, holding back tears. Outside the service, a couple who declined to be identified said their daughter works for Minneapolis police. “We are here to support our daughter and fellow officers in law enforcement,” the woman said. “And our prayers go to the Mitchell family.”

10:58 a.m. In the minutes leading up to the service, a video was played showing Mitchell with family, friends or his fellow officers enjoying a variety of moments at home, on outings or on trips. It closed with his badge draped with a black sash and a note below marking his “end of watch” on May 30, 2024.

10:42 a.m. Dozens of Minneapolis officers filled the first several rows of folding chairs at the front nearest to Mitchell’s casket, then remained standing while looking silently ahead.

10:15 a.m. Mitchell’s casket is in place at the front of the gym, flanked by a pair of Minneapolis police officers silently standing guard. His portrait rests behind on an easel surrounded by flowers.

10:01 a.m. A procession of mounted police on horseback with MPD and the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association are now escorting the caisson wagon transporting Mitchell’s flag-draped casket into the high school.

9:51 a.m. Dozens of American flags waved outside the high school. Most flew at half-staff. Mark Lea stood near the school entrance with his motorcycle near members of the Minnesota Patriot Guard. Lea is the guard’s senior ride captain. He said they attended Tuesday’s service to show “honor, dignity and respect for fallen officers.”

9:28 a.m. A phalanx of Ramsey County deputies filed in, soon followed by Minneapolis city officials: Mayor Jacob Frey and his wife, Sarah, arrived in a black SUV, followed by City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Attorney General Keith Ellison, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar have also arrived.

9:12 a.m. A row of buses began to drop off mourners at Maple Grove High School under an overcast sky. A spokesman for the city of Minneapolis said he did not know how many might attend the service, but the venue holds 5,000 people. Several members of the Patriot Guard stood with American flags at the entrance to the school, in front of a half-staff flag at the door.

9:07 a.m. The memorial service program lists those eulogizing Mitchell as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, officer and friend Luke Weatherspoon and friend Chris Dunker. Mitchell’s aunt Denise Raper is reading scripture, and the Rev. Mike Emmert is handling the opening and closing prayers.

The program’s cover has a photo of Mitchell with his family: partner Tori Myslajek and their children: Koen, Jalen, Kaden and Macen. A brief obituary included, “Jamal looked at life as an opportunity to make a difference in others’ lives. He was a proud Minneapolis police officer. He was a devoted father and enjoyed sharing his love for basketball with others.”

8:15 a.m. Final preparations are being made this morning for a memorial service in Maple Grove for Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell, who was fatally shot late last month.

The public service for Mitchell in the Maple Grove High School gymnasium is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. and last about two hours, organizers announced. Seating for the general public begins at 9 a.m.

Memorial service viewing will also be available on the YouTube page for KSTP-TV, Ch. 5:

Hours ahead of the service, a convoy of Minneapolis Police Department squads formed a somber image as it exited the highway in the rain on its way to the high school.

After the service, an honors ceremony will be held outside the school, where law enforcement officers from around the state and the country will fall into formation and military jets will conduct a flyover.

Gov. Tim Walz will also be in attendance, according to his public schedule. Minnesota Sen. Amy kl will also be among the dignitaries on hand for the service.

Shortly after 2 p.m., Mitchell’s body will be escorted in a procession from the high school at 9800 Fernbrook Lane N. to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport ahead of his return to his native Connecticut, the organizers said.

The procession route of more than 30 miles, starting in the city Mitchell called home, is largely along two major Twin Cities freeways, which will allow viewing from various overpasses. It will run south along Interstate 494, then east on Hwy. 62 before arriving at the airport. Motorists should anticipate intermittent highway closures as the procession moves along.

New Haven, Conn., police said Tuesday that Mitchell’s body is scheduled to arrive late Wednesday afternoon at Bradley International Airport in the metro area capital city of Hartford.

Contingents from the Connecticut State Police and New Haven Police Department will greet Mitchell’s family at the airport and escort them to the McClam Funeral Home in New Haven, said officer Christian Bruckhart, New Haven police spokesman.

Funeral services for Mitchell are scheduled for Monday at the Hillhouse High School Floyd Little Athletic Center, Bruckhart said. Viewing hours are planned for 9 to 11 a.m., with the service to immediately follow, the spokesman said. Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, police said.

Along with Mitchell, three other people were killed in back-to-back shootings in a two-block stretch of S. Blaisdell Avenue late on the afternoon of May 30. Among the dead is Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed, 35, of Eden Prairie, who state investigators say shot Mitchell at close range in the 2100 block of Blaisdell after the officer asked him whether he needed help.

Initial word from police pointed to Mohamed as the gunman who killed two people in an apartment moments before he was shot by two police officers.

Star Tribune staff writer Greta Kaul contributed to this story.