Funeral held for Dexter Wade, Jackson man struck, killed by police vehicle, as family alleges ‘cover up’

The family of Dexter Wade held a funeral on Monday afternoon for the 37-year-old man who used to be fatally struck by an off-duty police officer in Jackson, Mississippi, on March 5 and used to be buried in a potter’s box for greater than 5 months earlier than government notified his family.

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy for Wade — a father of 2 — whilst family legal professional Ben Crump will proceed to name at the U.S. Department of Justice to analyze the Jackson Police Department within the wake of Wade’s demise.

“I wanted to come for two reasons, Ms. Wade,” Sharpton mentioned, addressing Dexter Wade’s mom, Bettersten Wade Robinson. “I wanted to give words of comfort to the family, but I wanted to give words of discomfort to the state of Mississippi.”

“What happened to Dexter is a disgrace, a national outrage and should be treated as such,” he added. “… His life mattered to his mama, to his daughters and we’re gonna make it matter all over this country.”

The funeral used to be attended by Wade’s family, together with his mom and two daughters, group advocates and Tiffany Carter — the mum of Rasheem Carter, a Black man from Mississippi who went lacking in Oct. 2022, and whose partial stays had been later discovered. Carter may be in quest of solutions about her son’s demise.

“I really found [Dexter] for his two girls because they loved him so so much. And I wanted them to know what happened to their dad,” Wade Robinson mentioned. “And right now I thank everybody for just fighting with me. Just keep fighting with me. Because it’s not over yet.”

Wade Robinson accused the county and police of a “cover up” after it took greater than 5 months for her to learn of her son’s demise, in spite of having reported him lacking on March 14 to Jackson police – 9 days after she had final heard from him.

Wade Robinson, who advised ABC News that she supplied her touch information to police and is wondering why they didn’t tell her of her son’s demise and burial till Aug. 24.

“Right now I’m hoping I can get to some kind of answer as to why it happened and what was the reason that it happened. But right now I’m still not satisfied,” Wade Robinson advised ABC News Live’s Linsey Davis in an interview that aired Nov. 15 on Prime.

The funeral comes after the family launched on Thursday the result of an unbiased post-mortem that contradict town officers’ statements relating to why it took goodbye for police to inform Wade’s family of his demise.

According to Crump, the unbiased post-mortem discovered that Wade did have a pockets within the entrance pocket of his denims when he used to be killed that contained his state id card together with his house cope with, his credit card and a medical health insurance card – a element he says that without delay contradicts a remark made by Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba.

“The fact that Dexter had a state identification card and several other identifying items shows us that there was a concerted effort to keep the truth and manner of his death from his family,” Crump mentioned in a remark on Thursday. “There is no excuse, not even incompetence, for not notifying a next of kin of an identified man’s death.”

Lumumba up to now stated all over his State of the City address on Oct. 26 that there used to be a “lack of communication” that ended in the monthslong extend in letting Wade’s family know what came about to him and mentioned the extend used to be, partially, because of Wade having no ID on his particular person when he used to be killed.

According to Lumumba, police may no longer to begin with establish Wade. He did, then again, have a prescription drug bottle that at last allowed the Hinds County clinical examiner’s place of business to spot him. He additionally mentioned that after Wade used to be recognized, police had bother discovering the right kind touch information for his family.

“The failure was that ultimately, there was a lack of communication with the missing persons division, the coroner’s office and accident investigation,” Lumumba mentioned.

Crump pointed to the lacking particular person’s reaction that Wade Robinson filed with the Jackson Police Department, the place she supplied her touch information, and wondered all over a press convention on Oct. 30 why police did not seek advice from Wade Robinson’s house to tell her of her son’s demise.

“If they really wanted to notify her that the police officer had hit and killed her son when he crossed the street, they could have came and knocked on the door. It defies all logic and common sense,” Crump mentioned.

ABC News has reached out to the Hinds County Coroner’s Office to inquire about the result of the county post-mortem and the instances that led the clinical examiner to spot Wade, however requests for remark weren’t returned.

ABC News has additionally reached out to the town of Jackson and the mayor’s place of business following the discharge of findings of the unbiased post-mortem file.

A spokesperson for the Jackson Police Department up to now declined to remark to ABC News when requested about Wade’s demise and the instances that ended in the extend in informing his family.

During the mayor’s State of the City cope with, Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade — who isn’t any relation to Dexter Wade — introduced his condolences to Wade’s family.

“I cannot imagine the pain that they’re feeling,” the police leader mentioned. “I put measures in place to make sure something like this does not happen on my watch. I’ve also put the right people in place to make sure this does not happen on my watch.”

The unbiased post-mortem file additionally discovered, in keeping with Crump, that Wade’s frame used to be no longer embalmed and used to be in a complicated state of decomposition when he used to be exhumed final week. It additionally discovered that his left leg used to be severed and he had more than one blunt pressure accidents to the cranium, ribs, and pelvis.

Lumumba mentioned in his cope with on Oct. 26 that “at no point have we identified, nor did any investigation reveal that there was any police misconduct in this process.”

“The accident was investigated and it was determined that it was, in fact, an accident, and that there was no malicious intent,” he added.

The place of business of Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens mentioned in a statement on Oct. 27 that his place of business used to be running with the Jackson Police Department, Hinds County Coroner’s Office and different related companies to analyze Wade’s demise, the failure to inform his subsequent of kinfolk in a well timed way and the “irregularities surrounding the disposition of Mr. Wade’s frame.”

“We ask for the general public’s persistence as this necessary paintings is undertaken,” Owens added.

Asked about the status of the investigation, a spokesperson for DA Owens’ office told ABC News on Monday that the “investigation is ongoing, and our place of business is not able to remark right now.”