KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Kansas City, Kansas, mourns Officer Hunter Simoncic, killed Tuesday, one month after Wyandotte County Sheriff Deputy Elijah Ming was killed in the line of duty.
A new tribute grows across the street from where Ming's cruiser sat. Now a Kansas City, Kansas, police cruiser is part of the tribute for Simoncic.
"He died a true hero protecting his community," said Angie Jones, Special Agent in Charge with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Jones is also a founder of First Midwest, a law enforcement crisis support agency.
"This year, in 2025, we've lost 59 officers reported on the line of duty page. The officer today is going to make 60," Jones said.
Officer Simoncic's death adds to the trauma for both city and county departments still mourning Deputy Ming's death.
"Unfortunately, their trauma is doubled just in a few weeks time period, and they've had this occur on more than one occasion, in 2016, then in 2018, Wyandotte County lost two officers as well," Jones said.
The psychological toll on surviving officers weighs on their minds.
"What we usually see is, they go into operational mode, they want to take care of people, they want to take care of the community," Jones said. "They don't want to be off work. They want to take care of each other."
"Once a few days sink in, and they don't sleep for a few nights, then we start to see the trauma carry over to their families and the workplace," she added.
The impact spreads beyond day-to-day department operations, affecting recruitment and retention across the profession, Jones told KSHB 41 News Reporter Ryan Gamboa.
"It's a systematic impact, it's not just the agency that's affected, it's the surrounding agencies, the agencies across the nation that have experienced similar things," she said. "We see that in recruitment and retention, and unfortunately, these things aren't dealt with overnight. They carry on with them forever."
The close relationship between the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department and the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Department means losses affect both agencies equally.
"They count on each other, their lives depend on each other day in and day out," Jones said. "With Deputy Ming passing, KCK is just as impacted, vice versa today."
Former Wyandotte County Undersheriff and Kansas State Rep. Tim Johnson, a Republican who represents District 38 in Basehor, says the sister agencies bond is like a band of brothers.
"They know each other and a lot of times one has worked with one agency and has gone over to another," Johnson said.
Jones told KSHB 41 she spoke with Simoncic personally in the short time he was a police officer.
"I know this is what he wanted," Jones said. "He had bigger aspirations for his law enforcement career. I'd even spoken with him on the phone about that just a few months ago."
Simoncic was working toward advancing his career and had expressed interest in eventually joining the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
"He was very excited about his career in law enforcement and was so grateful that KCK gave him the opportunity to pursue that," she added.
The repeated losses on the departments have prompted calls for legislative action from Rep. Johnson, who draws on his 30-year law enforcement career.
"I think we've become very anesthetized by death as whole," Johnson said, pointing to rising homicide rates in the Kansas City metro area.
Johnson plans to push for new legislation next session aimed at holding suspects accountable for fleeing police.
"I will be bringing this up in the legislature that we need even stricter penalties," he said. "You run from the police, you should get mandatory jail time, exclamation point, period."
He believes making fleeing from police a felony offense could help deter dangerous pursuits. Depending on the situation, a fleeing suspect can be tried in municipal court.
"We need to make it that the county prosecutor can go at them with a felony," Johnson said. "I think that if we make it a point you're going to do some jail time, period. I think it'll make a difference."
Johnson also emphasized the need for officers to seek mental health support without stigma following a traumatic experience.
"It's not being a sissy because you went and talked with a counselor. Some of these counselors are former law enforcement, they're going to give you skivvy, the way it really is. They're going to help you," added Johnson. "Please go and don't be afraid to take your family."
Both Jones and Johnson emphasized the importance of community support for law enforcement.
"Thank you. You make a difference, that's all they want to hear is that little bit of respect," Johnson said.
Jones and Johnson both echoed the sentiment about remembering Simoncic's sacrifice and how he will be remembered by his family, department, and community.
"People should remember the sacrifice that he made for us as a community," Jones said. "He's absolutely a hero."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
