Eulogize Steven Jones

Several nationally-known civil rights activists attended Thursday’s funeral for Steven “Stevie” Jones in Connecticut. Jones, who was shot by Hartford police during a mental health episode on Blue Hills Avenue, was eulogized by the Rev. Al Sharpton at First Cathedral in Bloomfield. “We came to let this family know that we did not just come today,” Sharpton said. “We’ll come back over and over again, because if you can shoot Stevie in cold blood, you can do it to one of our loved ones. This must be treated with justice.” The service also included remarks from attorney Ben Crump, who’s representing the Jones family and has worked on several high-profile national cases of alleged police misconduct, including those of Randy Cox in New Haven, George Floyd in Minneapolis, and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. “Stevie never committed a crime,” Crump said. “Stevie had a mental health crisis. He needed a helping hand from the Hartford Police Department, but instead he got nine bullet holes in his body. That is a shame before God.”