On a gray Minneapolis Saturday, city leaders and the family of Officer Jamal Mitchell stood at a familiar Whittier intersection and watched a new name go up. A stretch of Blaisdell Avenue now carries a second title: “Officer Jamal Mitchell Way,” marking the corner where the 36-year-old officer was shot while responding to a call in May 2024.
Mayor Jacob Frey, top Minneapolis police officials, Mitchell’s partner, Tori Myslajek, and members of his family joined neighbors for the unveiling. City officials said the commemorative name is meant to serve as a permanent reminder of Mitchell’s service and sacrifice, and Saturday’s ceremony capped a formal process the City Council approved this spring to add the honorary designation.
The council voted unanimously to add the commemorative name to a one-block stretch of Blaisdell between West Franklin Avenue and West 22nd Street, and crews have already installed the new signs, according to the Star Tribune. A city planning staff report filed with the Department of Public Works shows that Mayor Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara submitted the petition. The report notes that the honorary designation does not change the primary street name or interfere with emergency services, per the Minneapolis staff report.
The shooting that led to the tribute
Mitchell was ambushed and fatally shot while responding to a shots-fired call in May 2024. Officials said he stopped to render aid and was then struck. The attack unfolded in the Whittier neighborhood and left multiple people wounded and two civilians dead in addition to Mitchell. The suspect, identified as Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed, died after an exchange of gunfire with officers, according to the AP.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension described the incident as an ambush. Mitchell was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died that evening.
Remembering Mitchell’s service
Mitchell joined the Minneapolis Police Department in 2022 and had been on patrol for about 18 months when he was killed at age 36. His record included several noted acts of bravery, including running into a burning home in 2023 to rescue an elderly couple. He was posthumously awarded the department’s Medal of Honor and Purple Heart, according to MPR News.
Family and city leaders at the scene
Speakers at the unveiling returned again and again to the same themes: courage, compassion and the way Mitchell treated people on and off the job. “This is a day that we celebrate a tremendous person and that we aspire ourselves to be even better,” Mayor Frey told the crowd, according to FOX 9.
Mitchell’s partner, Tori Myslajek, and the couple’s children were on hand and helped reveal the new “Officer Jamal Mitchell Way” sign, local outlet Insight News reported.
What the renaming actually does
City documents stress that the new title is ceremonial. The commemorative name appears on street signs along the block but does not replace Blaisdell Avenue as the official address used for mail, navigation or emergency response, the Minneapolis staff report states.
Officials said the markers are intended to keep Mitchell’s sacrifice in public view, turning a routine stretch of pavement into a quiet, permanent reminder at the place where he fell.
Dozens of officers, cadets and neighbors wept and shared memories during the ceremony, underscoring the toll the killing took on a department that honored Mitchell as one of its own, according to the Star Tribune. City leaders said the signs are meant to stand for years as a reminder of a life colleagues described as defined by service and compassion, and they expressed hope that Mitchell’s example will inspire others to similar acts.
