Officer Hunter Simoncic of the Kansas City (Kansas) Police Department was killed deploying spike strips.Kansas City Kansas PD/Facebook
A 26-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, Police officer was struck and killed while deploying a spike strip early Tuesday (August 26, 2025) morning.
Officer Hunter Simoncic was struck by a vehicle driven by a fleeing suspect, police said in a statement.
Dennis Mitchell III, 31, of Kansas City, Kansas, has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, vehicular homicide, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, theft, criminal possession of a firearm, and aggravated failure to appear. Formal charges are pending,” police said.
The incident began with officers responding to a shots fired call around 12:30 a.m.
At the site, the officers found an unconscious man in the driver’s seat of a truck. As officers approached the driver, he reportedly woke up and drove away.
“The driver, later identified as Dennis Mitchell III, 31, of Kansas City, was pursued by law enforcement. He abandoned the truck, entered another vehicle, and continued fleeing from officers,” police said.
During the pursuit Simoncic and another officer got out of their vehicles and staged spike strips. Simoncic was fatally struck by the suspect’s vehicle, police say.
“At approximately 12:55 a.m., Mitchell wrecked the truck. He was taken into custody and was transported to the University of Kansas Medical Center for examination. Mitchell was treated, released and transported to the Wyandotte County Jail. It was later learned both trucks had been reported stolen,” police said in a statement.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating.
