November 20 (Reuters) – People came together on Monday to remember the death of 37-year-old Black man Dexter Wade, who was hit and killed by an off-duty police officer in a police car in Mississippi eight months ago and buried without his family’s knowledge.
The Rev. Al Sharpton gave a moving eulogy over Wade’s body at New Horizon Church International in Jackson, Mississippi. He called it “a national outrage” and the crowd cheered and yelled.
“We’re standing here today because a journalist had some courage to break a story.”
My @NBCNews colleague @jonschuppe was recognized today at Dexter Wade’s funeral. I’m proud to work with him. pic.twitter.com/9IGIHQbjSk
— Mike Hixenbaugh (@Mike_Hixenbaugh) November 20, 2023
Wade’s body was found last week, more than eight months after his mother told Jackson police that he was missing. He had been buried in an empty grave in a potter’s field near a Hinds County jail.
“If you think you can put him on a shelf and bury him in a potter’s field like he didn’t exist and we wouldn’t do nothing about it, you were sadly mistaken,” Sharpton said in the tribute. “His life mattered to his mama, to his daughters, and we will make it matter all over the country.”
Dexter Wade Funeral
“When this battle started, I started by myself,” Wade’s mother, Bettersten Wade said, thanking the crowded church for their donations for the funeral. “And now I ask everybody, just keep fighting with me, because it’s not over yet.”
When Wade tried to cross a major highway in Jackson on the night of March 5, he was killed. Family and news sources say that Wade’s medication bottle with his name on it helped the coroner’s office figure out who he was. Sharpton’s office said that Bettersten Wade reported himself missing a week after he went missing and made many calls to the police after that.
Shaun King’s office said in a statement, “Bettersten wouldn’t find out her son was dead and buried in an unmarked grave until this fall. At that point, she paid a $250 fee to retrieve his body.”
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In the same way that Wade’s family has, Sharpton wants the U.S. Department of Justice to look into Wade’s death.
“I’ll be here until we see the prosecution of everyone involved in the death of Dexter Wade,” said Sharpton. NBC News reported that the coroner’s office said a detective tried to call Wade’s mother but couldn’t get through. The information was then sent to the Jackson Police Department so they could tell Wade’s family and friends about his death.
Last month, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the mayor of Jackson, said that the delay in telling Wade’s family “was an unfortunate and tragic accident.”
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