Kansas City is grieving the loss of a police officer who was tragically killed by a driver evading law enforcement as he worked to deploy stop sticks.

The Kansas City Police Department in Kansas has named the fallen officer as Hunter Simoncic, aged 26, who graduated from their academy in 2023.

According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Simoncic was struck early Tuesday morning on State Avenue while trying to deploy stop sticks to halt a driver escaping from authorities.

Charged with capital murder, evading a police officer, unlawful possession of a weapon, and two theft counts, Dennis Mitchell III, 31, is accused of hitting Simoncic, stated Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree on Wednesday.

Following the incident with the officer, Mitchell crashed at approximately 12:55 a.m. on Kaw Drive. Authorities apprehended him and took him, along with Simoncic, to the hospital for treatment. Mitchell was released shortly afterward and incarcerated in the Wyandotte County Jail.

Police said they later learned both trucks Mitchell drove Tuesday night had been reported stolen.

The department said in a Facebook post that Simoncic’s death brings a “profound sense of loss and pain.”

Prior to his service with KCKPD, Simoncic worked as a shift supervisor at the Southeast Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center. He held a bachelor’s in sociology and a master’s in forensic science.

He was also a volunteer at Benjamin Banneker Elementary School and read to children on a weekly basis through a program known as Lead to Read KC.

Patrol vehicle belonging to slain Kansas City, Kansas police officer Hunter Simoncic was adorned with flowers and candles ahead of a vigil planned for him. (Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office)

“While he grew up in a small town in southeast Kansas, he chose to serve our community because, in his words, ‘I want to take what I have learned in life to make positive changes in a community I believe truly deserves it.’ Let that sink in,” the department wrote.

Simoncic’s death comes just weeks after Elijah Ming, a deputy in Kansas City, was shot and killed in the line of duty.

“God speed Hunter. You and Elijah rest easy, we will take it from here,” KCKPD wrote on Facebook.

His funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 3.