Rev. Al Sharpton is calling for an investigation into Mississippi’s Jackson Police Department after the death of Dexter Wade and the force’s subsequent cover-up, according to the National Action Network.
Wade, 37, was fatally struck by an off-duty Jackson police officer sometime after leaving his mother’s home on March 5. He was then buried near the Hinds County Penal Farm after his body went unclaimed.
The victim’s mother, Bettersten Wade, continued searching for Dexter for several months until late August, when she was informed that he had been killed and buried without her knowledge.
Jackson officials claim that Wade did not have any identification on him at the time of his death and informed the coroner that they could not locate any next of kin.
However, renowned
civil rights attorney and the Wade family’s attorney Benjamin Crump has refuted these claims, as Bettersten had filed a missing person’s report in mid-March and consistently followed up about her son’s case until August 24, when she discovered that he had been killed and buried already.“Dexter’s story is a living nightmare for any mother. The secrecy surrounding his death, the alleged concealment of vital information, and the callous burial in a pauper’s field without his mother’s knowledge are not just oversights – they are a grave miscarriage of justice. The fact that Dexter’s tragic end involved an off-duty police officer only deepens the wounds of this community and raises troubling questions about the integrity of those entrusted with upholding the law,” Crump wrote on his official website.
He continued, saying, “In the face of this tragedy, we stand with Bettersten Wade and demand transparency, accountability, and justice for Dexter. Every life deserves dignity, and every grieving mother deserves the truth. We will not rest until the full truth is revealed, and those responsible for this injustice are held accountable. Dexter’s memory will not be forgotten, and his story will fuel our fight for a fair and just society where every life is valued and protected, regardless of who they are.”
Rev. Sharpton, who is the founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), has also spoken out, calling on the Department of Justice to conduct a full-scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding Wade’s killing and the department’s handling of the incident.
“What happened to
Dexter Wade is one of the most disturbing things I have ever heard. This is truly as bad as it gets. You have an off-duty officer who fatally strikes a Black man with an official vehicle, then a department that says they cannot locate a next of kin while his mother begs and pleads with anyone who will listen to find her son. The details clearly show this is a cover up – plain and simple,” Sharpton wrote on the National Action Network.“Today, I am asking the Justice Department to not only investigate this incident but the entire procedures, tactics, and culture of the Jackson Police Department. You cannot look at a single rotting tree and hope the rest of the forest is healthy. We are not
even a year removed from the murder of Tyre Nichols, and we are confronted with another law enforcement department brutally killing a Black man and then muddying their tracks. The Justice Department must set a precedent that if you commit an action as heinous as this, your entire house will be subject to scrutiny. In the meantime, the National Action Network is working with our allies in Jackson to support Dexter’s family during this incredibly difficult time.”RELATED CONTENT: Al Sharpton’s Message To Rappers Supporting Trump: ‘He Called for the Death Penalty For 5 Young Black Men’