KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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Kansas City, Kansas, residents are feeling the worst kind of déjà vu ahead of the funeral for Ofc. Hunter Simoncic.
The fatigue over repeated violence toward law enforcement extends to faith leaders like Benard Crawford and LaRon Thompson, a father-son duo. Both men serve as pastors in the Kansas City area.
Crawford is the bishop at House of Prayer Evangelistic Church in KCK, and Thompson is the pastor of Paseo Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
Both lifelong Wyandotte County residents spend a lot of time at Crawford’s barbershop along Quindaro Boulevard.
“This is a barbershop I grew up in,” Thompson said. “It belongs to my father. This is a community staple. It’s what we want to see come back to Quindaro. The life, the vibrancy, the investment in our community that we so desperately need.”
B's has been open for 23 years and counting.
“The idea came from God to have a light on Quindaro,” Crawford said.
But Crawford’s seen that light dim with recent violence.
He met Simoncic and interacts with officers from time to time for various obligations.
“It's just truly senseless to me,” Crawford said. “It makes you go to your knees in prayer.”
Prayer’s something both Crawford and Thompson do often as faith leaders.
It’s also something they encourage others to do in good and bad times.
“Prayer is our way out,” Crawford said.
Inside and outside the spiritual community, these losses have been difficult.
“It’s been painful,” Thompson said. “It’s been something we’ve really had to grapple with, wrestle with mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally. So coming to grasp with the reality that violence is attacking our community is something we’re all wrestling with.”
Simoncic died Aug. 26 after being hit by a suspect’s vehicle.
Exactly a month prior, Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Deputy Elijah Ming died after being shot and killed in the line of duty.
“Deputy Ming was a one-of-a-kind man, and we still feel the sting of his loss greatly in our community," Thompson said. "And now here we are a month later, to the day, where we are now mourning the loss of another great young man, 26 years old, in Hunter Simoncic."
It hits even harder for Thompson as Ming’s former classmate and friend.
He even spoke at Ming’s funeral back in August.
“It was pretty heavy,” Thompson said. “Elijah and I went to high school together, and so dealing with the reality now that I’m speaking at his funeral is something that’s hard to grasp mentally. It was an honor to speak well of a man who truly lived a life of servant leadership.”
Thompson’s calling on the leaders still around to step up, whether it’s being engaged during election season, working with other local leaders or condemning violence overall.
"Two truths can exist at the same time," Thompson said. "We’re sad, but we can unite in this moment."
He believes violence isn’t the county’s only issue.
“It’s important for us to band together, not just to support our law enforcement officials, but to support those who are in desperate need in our community,” Thompson said.
Crawford says it’s not just on local leaders to act.
“Sometimes, the community don't know the roles of the officers in the community, and I think that's what needs to change,” Crawford said. “I think we need to get out of our homes, get out of our routines, and go to some of our community meetings so we can understand the role of some of the officers.”
As long as these conversations continue, B's will remain home to advice.
“We gotta have hope,” Crawford said. “We can't abandon our hope because of senseless acts.”
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