Council Names a Block 'Jamal Mitchell Way' for the Fallen Fifth Precinct Officer

The City Council resolution designates Blaisdell Avenue between Franklin Avenue West and West 22nd Street, in the Whittier neighborhood on the southern edge of Ward 7, with the sign unveiled at Blaisdell and West 22nd Street. Mitchell was shot and killed on May 30, 2024, while responding to a shooting; he had gone to aid a man who turned out to be the gunman. He was posthumously recognized as the department's Officer of the Year.

"He is emblematic of everything that Minneapolis is about," Mayor Jacob Frey said at the ceremony, calling Mitchell "a hero, who gave his life to protect others without a second thought." Interim Police Chief Katie Blackwell asked that "every person who passes this sign take a moment to reflect on the example Jamal Mitchell set for all of us". Mitchell's partner, parents and children attended.

The designation is an honorary one, layered onto the existing roadway: the legal address does not change, but the signage and public recognition carry the commemorative name. Council reserves the gesture for losses it considers significant, and the choice of block is deliberate, fixing Mitchell's name to ground he worked near the Fifth Precinct.

The dedication came days after upheaval at the top of the department that responded to Mitchell's death. Frey had renominated Chief Brian O'Hara for a second four-year term on May 7, 2026, citing a reduction in violent crime and gains in recruiting and department diversity. But O'Hara resigned on May 26, 2026, after Frey said an internal investigation found he had interfered with a prior probe into his workplace conduct, deleting a city employee's contact from his city-issued phone. Blackwell, named interim chief, presided at the street dedication four days later.