KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Communities on both sides of the state line are mourning the loss of Kansas City, Kansas, Police Officer Hunter Simoncic.
The 26-year-old Simoncic was killed while assisting with a police chase.
Just after midnight on Tuesday, police responded to a call that gunshots had been fired.
When officers arrived, they found an unconscious man in a truck. As they approached the truck, the man woke up and drove off.
Police chased the suspect. Officer Simoncic deployed stop sticks near Kansas City Community College to work to bring the chase to an end.
Police say the suspect turned the vehicle directly at Officer Simoncic and purposely hit him.
"It makes no sense," KCKPD Chief Karl Oakman said. "I have no words for it. It makes absolutely no sense."
Officer Simoncic was taken to the University of Kansas Medical Center where he died from his injuries.
The suspect, 31-year-old Dennis Mitchell III, was arrested.
Hunter Simoncic was a Kansas native who loved his family and his community. He was heavily involved in his community, not just protecting the public, but being a role model to elementary school children.
He worked an overnight police shift to keep Kansas City, Kansas, safe.
Instead of going home after a long night, Simoncic gave up his free time to read to second grade students at Banneker Elementary School every week.
"He was such a a blessing to our school," Marla Boswell, a teacher, said. "He was a blessing to the Lead to Read program and it's a tremendous loss."
"To see a police officer down on the floor with a seven-year-old looking at a Dr. Seuss book and working their way through it, then also just having a conversation about their lives, is really special," Heather Long, another teacher, said.
15 KCKPD officers mentored with the Lead to Read program. Officer Simoncic helped the little learners sound out their favorite books.
"He loved this program so much," Lead to Read Coordinator Radell Oakman said. "He loved the children so much and that is all he talked about. He was always here. He never missed."
Oakman oversees the program and introduced the idea of having police officers read to children during the school year. She saw Officer Simoncic's dedication over the years.
"He gave all that he had to the kids, and it meant so much to him," Oakman said.
The news of Simoncic's death weighs heavy on her heart, as it does for her husband, Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Karl Oakman.
"This man gave his life at 26," Chief Oakman said.
Lead to Read was more than community service for Officer Simoncic.
"He struggled with a stuttering issue, but the strange thing is when he would come to read, he wouldn't stutter," Chief Oakman said. "Here's a young man who has a challenge with stuttering. Think about that, and he chose to read with little children."
A public servant before, during and after his watch.
"He really cared about this community, and he was young," Oakman said. "He was 26 years old. You don't always find that commitment at that level and at that age."
Officer Simoncic's death comes exactly one month after Wyandotte County Sheriff Deputy Elijah Ming was killed in the line of duty.
"[Hunter] just dealt with the stuff with Deputy Ming, but he still continued to do his job, knowing that the risk is always there," Chief Oakman said. "He was more than just a uniform."
Official charges have not yet been filed against suspect Dennis Mitchell III in the death of Simoncic, but he is in custody. He was arrested on suspicion of first degree murder, vehicular homicide, fleeing a police officer, theft, criminal possession of a firearm and failure to appear.
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