KANSAS CITY, KS - On Monday, September 1st, a motorcade led by officers on motorcycles, guided a hearse carrying the body of fallen KCK Officer Hunter Simoncic.
The motorcade passed by the KCK Police Officer's Memorial as well as Simoncic's cruiser, which is now completely covered by flowers and signs from those in the community who care, according to KMBC.
In addition to the support from the community, a t-shirt fundraiser courtesy of the Texas-based nonprofit, Relentless Defender, has started up.
Relentless Defender prints shirts for the families and communities of those killed in the line of duty. "We print for just about any agency all over the nation," said founder Aaron Slater.
"We only do these if we are reached out to by the family and the police department ... his family and the KCC Police were part of the design of it."
The t-shirt, along with a memorial wristband, can be found at the top of Relentless Defender's fundraiser page. The pre-order for the t-shirt and wristband ends on September 15th.
Relentless Defender Apparel and its sister nonprofit, Relentless Defender Foundation, have raised over $2.5 million for the families of first responders since 2015. They also printed a shirt benefiting the family of Wyandotte County Deputy Elijah Ming, which raised over $5,300.
"100% of the proceeds go to the family," Slater said. "We are honored to do this, but don't like to do this ... it's a tragedy." Slater spent over 20 years in law enforcement and knows the pain of watching a fellow officer die on duty. "We can ease the pain, and if we can provide an outlet to help, we will do that," he said.
Officer Simoncic was killed in the line of duty on August 26th, KCTV reported. Officers with the Kansas City Kansas Police Department (KCKPD) were called to the area of North 77th Street and Everett Avenue on reports of sounds of gunfire.
When officers arrived, they found an armed man, later identified as Dennis Edward Mitchell III, inside a truck.
As officers approached the truck, he fled the scene. During the chase, Mitchell allegedly pulled over the truck, abandoned it and then entered another car before continuing to drive away from police.
Authorities later discovered both vehicles were reported stolen.
As the chase ensued, Simoncic was attempting to deploy stop sticks a few blocks away.
Mitchell is accused of driving toward the officer and over the median, hitting Simoncic before leaving the scene. Mitchell ended up crashing a few blocks away and was subsequently arrested and taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
After receiving treatment, he was taken to the Wyandotte County Jail, where he is being held on suspicion of multiple criminal charges. He has since been formally charged with capital murder.
He has also been charged with one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, two counts of theft and one count of criminal possession of a weapon. If he is convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty.
Following the crash, Officer Simoncic was taken to the KU Medical Center for treatment, but later died from his injuries. He was 26-years-old and had joined the force in November 2023.
The motorcade passed by the KCK Police Officer's Memorial as well as Simoncic's cruiser, which is now completely covered by flowers and signs from those in the community who care, according to KMBC.
In addition to the support from the community, a t-shirt fundraiser courtesy of the Texas-based nonprofit, Relentless Defender, has started up.
Relentless Defender prints shirts for the families and communities of those killed in the line of duty. "We print for just about any agency all over the nation," said founder Aaron Slater.
"We only do these if we are reached out to by the family and the police department ... his family and the KCC Police were part of the design of it."
The t-shirt, along with a memorial wristband, can be found at the top of Relentless Defender's fundraiser page. The pre-order for the t-shirt and wristband ends on September 15th.
Relentless Defender Apparel and its sister nonprofit, Relentless Defender Foundation, have raised over $2.5 million for the families of first responders since 2015. They also printed a shirt benefiting the family of Wyandotte County Deputy Elijah Ming, which raised over $5,300.
"100% of the proceeds go to the family," Slater said. "We are honored to do this, but don't like to do this ... it's a tragedy." Slater spent over 20 years in law enforcement and knows the pain of watching a fellow officer die on duty. "We can ease the pain, and if we can provide an outlet to help, we will do that," he said.
Officer Simoncic was killed in the line of duty on August 26th, KCTV reported. Officers with the Kansas City Kansas Police Department (KCKPD) were called to the area of North 77th Street and Everett Avenue on reports of sounds of gunfire.
When officers arrived, they found an armed man, later identified as Dennis Edward Mitchell III, inside a truck.
As officers approached the truck, he fled the scene. During the chase, Mitchell allegedly pulled over the truck, abandoned it and then entered another car before continuing to drive away from police.
Authorities later discovered both vehicles were reported stolen.
As the chase ensued, Simoncic was attempting to deploy stop sticks a few blocks away.
Mitchell is accused of driving toward the officer and over the median, hitting Simoncic before leaving the scene. Mitchell ended up crashing a few blocks away and was subsequently arrested and taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
After receiving treatment, he was taken to the Wyandotte County Jail, where he is being held on suspicion of multiple criminal charges. He has since been formally charged with capital murder.
He has also been charged with one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, two counts of theft and one count of criminal possession of a weapon. If he is convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty.
Following the crash, Officer Simoncic was taken to the KU Medical Center for treatment, but later died from his injuries. He was 26-years-old and had joined the force in November 2023.
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