KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The memorial site for Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Deputy Elijah Ming continues to grow in the days following his line-of-duty death.
Tuesday morning, there was a steady flow of community members visiting to pay their respects.
By taking a look at the memorabilia strewn across his cruiser, people are able to get a glimpse into who Ming was.
The memorial is a symbol of his nine-year dedication to law enforcement, and the support of the community that once knew him.
“His personality, just like his smile, was the brightest. ... You could see it a mile away," said community member Ashialey Randle. "And if you see him smile, it would make you wanna smile, no matter what kind of day you were having. He had the biggest heart. He cared, which is why he joined the force.”
Randle remembers Deputy Ming as a teenager, as a small boy with a big heart who graduated with her baby sister in the same class.
She says Wyandotte County is small, so everyone knows everyone.
“The timing just wasn’t expected, but he gained his wings,” Randle said. “He’s in the gates of heaven, and we’re all praying for him and his family.”
Friends and family say Ming was a man of faith. Even on the job, he found ways to live out that faith.
Ming spent many Sundays doing security at Ron Domerese’s church, First Pentecostal Church in Bonner Springs, Kansas.
“He would hold the door open, or he would stand at the patrol car and just smile at everybody, shake their hand," Domerese said. "He was just so, he was a people person. I’d look back there, and he’d be standing in the back, clapping his hands and just enjoying right along. At the same time, protecting our people.”
Domerese says Ming’s final security shift was two Sundays ago.
HONORING DEPUTY MING | Full coverage
“Our hearts are just broken. Everyone at the church is just really heartbroken,” Randle said. “We just trust the process that the Lord knows what He’s doing.”
Outside the Wyandotte County Courthouse, the flags are at half-staff.
Wyandotte County community members, especially those connected with the Kansas City-area law enforcement community, say you did not have to know Ming to love him.
“It’s bittersweet because it shows how strong of a community, how strong of a police family we do have in this area. But it just shows that one of our own family members is gone,” said Mia Tomasic, community member. “Our family is part of the police community, and so it traveled really, really quickly.”
As this tight-knit community finds a way forward, Tomasic hopes to focus on the light in the midst of darkness.
“We’re better than this, and we are stronger than this,” Tomasic said. “He’s not forgotten, and it wasn’t in vain.”
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