A 26-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, Police officer was hit and killed early Tuesday by a fleeing suspect in a stolen car, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said, exactly one month to the day after a Wyandotte County sheriff’s deputy was killed.
Officer Hunter Simoncic, 26, was intentionally struck while throwing stop sticks in the 7200 block of State Avenue after 12:40 a.m. while officers were attempting to apprehend a man, the KBI’s Dustin Wallace said.
Dennis Mitchell III, 31, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, vehicular homicide, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, theft, criminal possession of a firearm, and aggravated failure to appear.
The officer’s death comes as the city is still mourning the loss of sheriff’s deputy Elijah Ming, 34, who was fatally shot during a domestic violence call on July 26. District Attorney Mark Dupree is pursuing capital murder charges against Shawn Harris, 38, who could face the death penalty if he is convicted.
“It has only been one month since we laid a (Wyandotte County) Sheriff's Deputy to rest,” the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police said in a Facebook post. “Within the next week, we will honor this officer and his sacrifice. Please keep the men and women of the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department in your thoughts and prayers as we go through this difficult time yet again.”
Tuesday’s incident began around 12:30 a.m. when police were sent to the 7700 block of Everett Avenue, responding to shots being fired. Ten minutes later, officers located an unconscious man in the driver’s seat of a truck, but as officers approached the driver, he woke up and fled the scene, Wallace said.
Mitchell allegedly then abandoned the truck, entered another vehicle, and continued fleeing from officers. Simoncic and another officer were outside their cruiser, throwing stop sticks in an attempt to disable the truck, when “Mitchell drove toward an officer, striking him before continuing to flee the area,” Wallace said.
By 12:55 a.m., Mitchell wrecked the truck near the 6400 block of Kaw Drive, Wallace said. He was arrested, taken to the University of Kansas Medical Center, treated, released and taken to the Wyandotte County jail, Wallace said.
The death also brought back memories from 2016, when two members of the force were killed months apart.
Police Detective Brad Lancaster was fatally shot in May 2016 during a police pursuit and in July, police Captain Robert Melton was shot and killed while responding to a drive-by shooting and police chase.
