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Rev. Al Sharpton to attend memorial for CT teen killed by trooper after pursuit

NEW HAVEN Rev. Al Sharpton will attend a memorial this weekend for the teen killed by a state trooper as the family continues to come to grips with the 19-year-olds death.

The Rev. Boise Kimber said Sharpton a civil rights activist and Baptist minister will attend the event at the First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The plans for the memorial come after Mubarak Soulemane was killed last week by a state trooper after police say he wielded a knife at a Norwalk AT&T store, carjacked a rideshare driver and then led authorities on a high-speed chase on Interstate 95 that ended in West Haven.

Reverend Sharpton has stood up against police brutality for years all across this nation, so it is befitting for him to come and to share with this family and community, Kimber said Wednesday.

Soulemane is one of three people fatally wounded by police in Connecticut so far in 2020.

The first occurred when Ansonia police said Sgt. Christopher Flynn, Officer Brendon Nelson and Officer Wojciech Podgorski responded to a domestic violence call that ended with 30-year-old Michael Gregory dead. Gregory was armed with a knife.

Soulemane was the second person killed by police gunfire following last Wednesdays pursuit. His family has called for Trooper Brian North, who fired the shots that killed Soulemane, to be fired. They have also called on state police to institute more de-escalation training for troopers.

Waterbury resident Edwards Gendron, 57, was killed on Monday by shots fired by Waterbury Police Officer Ronald W. Tompkins III after an altercation, according to police.

With the memorial on the horizon and another deadly police shooting this week, Mariyann Soulemane told Hearst Connecticut Media that her family is still processing what happened to her younger brother, Mubarak.

I was just in a state of shock, Mariyann Soulemane, who lives in Malaysia, said of learning the news about her brother.

Mariyann Soulemane said her brother was born in the United States before the family moved to Ghana. They came back to the U.S. when Mubarak was 5 or 6, living in the Bronx, N.Y., before moving to Norwalk.

She said her brother eventually became interested in basketball, and making a name for himself. An interest in business soon followed she remembers her brother starting a business selling tie-dyed socks to his friends.

I remember him telling me he wanted to focus on his studies, because he wanted to pursue a business major, Mariyann Soulemane said.

She said her brothers schizophrenia became apparent in 2016. One day, she said, he called her while she was at work and started saying all these manic things.

At one point, he told his sister he saw a man in his room who wanted to harm him.

He was so scared, she said.

She said his personality completely changed when he would have a schizophrenic episode.

I was amazed at how patient he was I wish I had his patience, but when that sickness took over his mind, it was like a snap, she said.

Mariyann Soulemane said she was often worried about her brothers episodes and feared for his safety, but never thought it could end in his death.

I never predicted that it would go as far as this, she said. I did have fears that he would be in a dangerous situation, but never that someone would pierce his skin with seven gunshots.

Friends of the Soulemane family have started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the teens funeral and memorial expenses.

Mubi was a friend to us all...he always brought fun and joy to the table, wrote Ziair Williams, the organizer of the page.

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Rev. Al Sharpton to attend memorial for CT teen killed by trooper after pursuit - Thehour.com