MINNEAPOLIS — A documentary premieres this week in Minneapolis featuring three notable Minnesota moms.
The doc, MAMA!, follows Katie Wright, Amity Dimock and Del Shea Perry as they fight for accountability for their fallen sons.
Even though there are three different women and three separate incidents, there's one shared feeling of navigating pain.
"When you lose somebody, we always say, as families, it's like you're in a twilight zone," said Katie Wright.
Wright entered that zone on April 11, 2021, when her 20-year-old son, Daunte Wright, was shot and killed in Brooklyn Center during a traffic stop.
"I remember him as that kid with the big, beautiful smile," said Katie. "The heart of gold."
Brooklyn Center Officer Kimberly Potter claimed she mistakenly drew her gun instead of a Taser. Potter was convicted and sentenced to 16 months in prison and another eight months on supervised release.
"People say that when you lose someone, it gets easier as the years go on. We're going on three years, and I don't see it any different. I've just learned how to live my life with a piece of my heart missing," said Katie.
Amity Dimock says a piece of her heart's been missing since Aug. 31, 2019.
"He was kind, compassionate, and funny," said Dimock.
Her 21-year-old son, Kobe Dimock-Heisler, was shot and killed by Brooklyn Center police officers. Family members say he was on the autism spectrum. No criminal charges were filed against the two Brooklyn Center police officers involved in his shooting.
"It still breaks my heart watching our family members and friends still till this day dealing with the grief," said Dimock.
Grief has been a part of Del Shea Perry's life for over five years.
"Yeah, he made some mistakes, but he was my only child and was a good person," said Perry.
Her son, 27-year-old Hardel Sherrell, died Sept. 2, 2018 lying on his cell floor at the Beltrami County jail. His pleas for help were ignored. The state medical board stripped the license of the jail's medical director at the time, Todd Leonard. Sherrell's nurse had her license revoked last year. But there have been 'no' criminal charges, as the case still sits at the attorney general's office.
"It's so hard, even after five years, and I'm like, 'I'm not going to quit,' like, 'God is giving me the strength,'" said Perry.
Strength is something you need when navigating gut-wrenching pain. Katie, Amity and Del Shea found strength in each other, thanks to the MAMA! documentary.
"This is from one hurting mother who's lost her only child to another hurting mother: I got your back," said Perry.
The documentary is directed by Sofia Drai and Carl Reid. Niko Georgiades, the film's associate producer, says the film took almost three years to make. He also says the documentary is a journey.
"You'll see the mothers dealing with the death. What do they do next? How do they push forward," he said.
Filmmakers say they're curious to see how this documentary will be received.
"I hope the public still cares," said Georgiades. "It was very open to supporting Black folks. Now, I feel like we're almost at the opposite end of that."
These three mothers hope the public still cares since they never stopped. Turning their pain into passion has helped.
For Amity and Katie, their new passion is working on police reforms. They've also teamed up to create a nonprofit that supports other families of loved ones killed by police.
For Del Shea, her new passion is Be Their Voices. Her nonprofit ensures everyone who goes to a Minnesota jail is not neglected or leaving in a body bag.
"I would just hope that people are more understanding and maybe a little more open-minded. Instead of just assuming we're anti-police," said Dimock.
"We definitely need police. We just need them where it's going to be effective and safe for both police and community," said Wright
"This should be something that opens everyone's eyes to say, what can we do," said Perry.
Three different women, three separate incidents, one shared feeling of navigating pain, and now one shared feeling of navigating justice together.
"I will always fight until I can't fight anymore," said Wright.
This documentary is available on multiple platforms, including:
- AT&T U-Verse
- DirecTV
- Dish Network and Sling TV
- iN DEMAND (Spectrum, Comcast)
- Vubiquity
- Hoopla - libraries
- Amazon
- Apple TV
- Vudu
- Xbox
- Google Play
- YouTube Movies
There will also be an in-person premiere at the Capri Theater Friday at 6 p.m. For information about the event and how to buy tickets, click here.
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