NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell shared a special bond with his great-grandmother.
Monday morning, Apostle Martha Green gave the eulogy for her great-grandson's funeral in New Haven, Connecticut.
"I believe God told him to leave your kindred and go to Minnesota. You got some work to do. And after he finished his work, they shipped him back home," Green said.
Mitchell, 36, was fatally shot in the line of duty on May 30 in south Minneapolis.
Last week, thousands remembered Mitchell during a memorial service that was held at Maple Grove Senior High School. Monday, his funeral was held at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.
Mitchell grew up in New Haven, then relocated to Minnesota in 2018.
"Although Officer Jamal Mitchell's service to the city of Minneapolis was short, it was something to behold. Jamal wanted to be the change he wanted to see in policing and he did so in a brief period of time... in Minneapolis. Let's say it... in Minneapolis," said Ronnell Higgins, an extended family member and commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
The funeral included many of Mitchell's fellow officers.
The Minneapolis Police Foundation raised more than $25,000 through their GoFundMe to send MPD officers to the funeral.
Joe Ditsch, vice president of the Minneapolis Police Foundation, said they also raised money directly through the foundation's website.
"In addition, the Honor Guard and City of Minneapolis provided support. It was a group effort," Ditsch said.
MPF President Amy Sizer told KARE 11's Morgan Wolfe it allowed them to send 50 MPD officers to Monday's funeral in Connecticut.
The Minneapolis Police Foundation is now accepting donations to build a memorial at the 5th Precinct for Officer Mitchell.
"It is not how Jamal died that made him a hero; it's how he lived his life," MPD Chief Brian O'Hara said.
O'Hara described Mitchell as "courageous to his core."
The chief mentioned how after Mitchell's death, each day hundreds of people would come to the 5th Precinct to pay their respects.
"I wish you all in New Haven could've seen the outpouring of love from community that Jamal received in Minneapolis and I'm talking Minneapolis now... post-2020," O'Hara said.
O'Hara also spoke about Mitchell's fellow officers, saying, "I can't help but think how we as society have become too accepting of what is just a very negative narrative that paints all men and women, all diverse men and women, in this profession with too broad a brush. We have to realize that words have meaning."
Mitchell is survived by his long-term partner Tori Myslayek and their children: Jalen, Kaden, Macen and Koen.
O'Hara went on to say, "Farewell, Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell, #4819... We have the watch from here."
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