Deputy Elijah Ming saw good in others throughout his law enforcement career, his cousin-in-law says

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Elijah Ming "would believe in you better than your own damn self," his cousin-in-law Donnie said Tuesday.

Ming, 34, was killed Saturday in Kansas City, Kansas, while conducting a civil standby in his job as a Wyandotte County sheriff's deputy.

Donnie wants the community to know his cousin-in-law for more than one tragic afternoon.

He said he first knew Ming as a peer in middle school and as the son of his football coach.

Ming later married Donnie's cousin.

HONORING DEPUTY MING | Full coverage

Donnie said Ming was a favorite corrections officer among inmates at the Wyandotte County Detention Center, as he would go the "extra mile" for them.

"Just being considerate of the fact that, 'Hey, you might have messed up, but I don't have to treat you bad, being that I see that you're growing inside of here,'" Donnie said.

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Donnie said Ming would tell inmates what he could see them becoming once they got out of the detention center.

"He had so much hope," Donnie said.

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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.