GoFundMe For Dexter Wade Lags After Cops Kill, Bury Black Man Without Notifying Family

Source: gofundme / GoFundMe

The Mother of Dexter Wade has created a GoFundMe to help raise money for the family so that they may give the late Black man a proper burial and funeral. 

The fundraiser, which was started by Bettersten Wade on Oct. 16, has raised a bit of money thus far but is nowhere near the designated goal.

Since its inception two weeks ago, the fundraiser has gained $13,500 of its $100,000 goal, with just under 300 donations. 

According to NBC News, Bettersten Wade last saw her son on March 5. 

A week later, she reported him missing to the Jackson police and then followed up for months. She called missing persons investigators seeking information on numerous occasions, posted appeals on Facebook, searched abandoned houses and asked neighbors for help.

On Aug. 24 a Jackson accident investigator told Bettersten Wade about her son’s death, more than six months after she reported him missing the first time. The accident investigator told her Wade had died the night he left home, struck by a police cruiser while crossing a nearby highway, which was later confirmed by the Hinds County coroner’s office.

According to NBC News, Bettersten Wade and Ben Crump have accused the Jackson Police Department of having a vendetta against her family because of a 2019 case where Bettersten Wade’s 62-year-old brother died after a Jackson officer slammed him to the ground. The officer involved was convicted of manslaughter but is appealing the verdict. 

In her GoFundMe description, Wade’s mother explains that she is not only raising money for a proper burial but also to have her son’s body exhumed with a full independent autopsy.

“Dexter deserved so much more than being buried in a pauper field grave for the unknown,” wrote Bettersten. “He was a beloved son, father, nephew, and community member who deserved to be treated with love and care and given a proper resting place. Thank you so much for supporting this effort and my family as we deal with the trauma the police have caused us.”

During a press conference Monday, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump called for a Department of Justice investigation into the death of Dexter Wade.

“It just doesn’t pass the smell test,” Crump said. “That’s why people all over America are talking about what happened to Dexter Wade in Jackson, Mississippi. We are asking for the Department of Justice to investigate this matter because the family does not have trust in the Mississippi officials. Would you after this happened to your brother and child?”

If you would like to help Bettersten Wade and donate to Dexter Wade’s GoFundMe, click here.

SEE ALSO:

‘Proper Funeral’ Planned For Black Man Cops Killed And Buried Without Family’s Knowledge

Jackson Mayor Explains Why Family Of Black Man Killed By Cop Wasn’t Informed Of His Death

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