Topline
Mississippi resident Dexter Wade was struck and killed by an off-duty police officer earlier this year and reported missing by his family, but his mother was only notified of his death months later after officials had buried his body—an incident the mayor of Jackson called “tragic” but not evidence of misconduct, but a lawyer for Wade’s family called a “miscarriage of justice.”
Key Facts
The last time Betterson Wade, the mother of 37-year-old Dexter Wade, saw or heard from her son was March 5, and after over a week of no contact, she reported him missing to police on March 14, according to a report by NBC News.
Unbeknownst to Betterson Wade, her son was struck and killed by an off-duty police officer while walking along the highway in Jackson, Mississippi, the night of March 5.
LaGrand Elliot, an investigator with the Hinds County Coroner’s office, told NBC he identified Dexter Wade using a prescription bottle on March 8 and attempted to contact Betterson Wade before passing along her phone number and address to police.
After following up with police later that month and being told no family was located, the coroner’s office reportedly buried Dexter Wade in July in a field with other unclaimed bodies.
Wade’s mother continued asking police about updates on her son’s disappearance, but officials at the Jackson police department told her they had no information on Wade’s whereabouts.
In August, the police department notified Betterson Wade of her son’s death and she paid $250 retrieved his body earlier this month, but she questioned why it took them so long to alert her because although Dexter Wade didn’t have any identification with him at the time he was hit, he had a pill bottle with his name on it, she told local news station WLBT3.
The officer who struck Dexter Wade doesn’t face any charges, and after an investigation into the case, the city found although there was “miscommunication,” there was “no malicious intent anywhere in this whole situation,” Jackson director of communications Melissa Faith Payne told Forbes.
News Peg
During a State of the City address Thursday night, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said officials were “unable to find [Dexter Wade’s] family within an expeditious period of time” due to a miscommunication between the coroner’s office and police department. He said a few days before Betterson Wade filed a missing persons report, the coroner received a phone number from the doctor who prescribed Dexter Wade’s medication and attempted to contact his mother, but the number was inaccurate. The mayor reiterated Payne’s point that there was “no police misconduct in this process” or malicious intent. Forbes has reached out to the Jackson police department for further comment.
Crucial Quote
“It’s important we don’t confuse the community with issues of police misconduct in a circumstance, which, honestly, was an unfortunate and tragic accident,” Lumumba said during his address.
Chief Critic
Betterson Wade retained civil rights and personal injury lawyer Ben Crump to represent her family, according to a statement from his law firm. Crump said the circumstances surrounding Dexter Wade’s death were a “grave miscarriage of justice,” calling his burial without his mother’s knowledge “callous,” and demanded “transparency, accountability and justice” for Dexter Wade. Crump has represented the families of Black people killed by police, including Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown and Ahmaud Arbery.
Key Background
Betterson Wade told NBC News she was hesitant to call the police because of her family’s past with the local police department. Betterson Wade’s 62-year-old brother George Robinson was killed on January 13, 2019 after police dragged him from a car and slammed him to the ground. Although a judge dismissed all charges against two officers involved in the case, Anthony Fox, a third officer, was sentenced to five years for culpable negligence manslaughter in 2022. In July, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch urged a state appeals court to overturn Fox’s conviction, arguing prosecutors failed to prove Fox committed culpable negligence manslaughter.
Tangent
Betterson Wade told WLBT3 because her son was a convicted felon, the Jackson police department should have been able to identify him using his fingerprints on file. He went to prison twice, once for attempted auto theft and once for armed robbery, but was released in 2017, according to the NBC News report. Betterson Wade noticed a change in her son following his release, and he was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to NBC News. Once he started taking his prescribed medication, Betterson Wade claims her son stopped taking illegal drugs as often and stayed home cleaning, selling snacks and giving out free food to the homeless.
A mother reported her son missing in March. Police kept the truth from her for months. (NBC News)
Murder charges against Jackson police dismissed: DA, defense, George Robinson’s family react (Clarion Ledger)
Former JPD officer Anthony Fox sentenced to 5 years in death of George Robinson (WLBT3)
Mississippi attorney general asks court to overturn manslaughter conviction of former police officer (AP News)
‘I was calling and wondering where he was’: Mother says JPD didn’t notify her for months about missing son’s death (WLBT3)
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