In the early hours of August 26, 2025, the streets of Kansas City, Kansas, bore witness to a devastating act that would claim the life of a young police officer and thrust 31-year-old Dennis Edward Mitchell III into the spotlight as a man whose reckless decisions culminated in tragedy. Suspected of the first-degree murder of Officer Hunter Simoncic, Mitchell’s actions during a high-stakes police chase revealed a pattern of defiance and desperation, rooted in a criminal history that stretches back over a decade. His story is one of repeated run-ins with the law, a propensity for flight, and a fateful night that left a community in mourning.
The chain of events began around 12:30 a.m. in the 7700 block of Everett Avenue, near Kansas City, Kansas Community College, where police responded to reports of gunfire detected by the city’s gunshot detection system. Officers found Mitchell, seemingly unconscious and armed, slumped in the driver’s seat of a truck. But as they approached, the scene exploded into chaos. Mitchell snapped awake, floored the accelerator, and sped off, igniting a dangerous pursuit through the city’s darkened streets. His initial escape was only the beginning. In a calculated move, he abandoned the truck for another vehicle—later confirmed to be stolen, hidden in the woods as part of his getaway plan—demonstrating a chilling preparedness to evade capture at any cost.
As the chase intensified, Mitchell’s desperation became deadly. In the 7200 block of State Avenue, Officer Simoncic and a colleague attempted to deploy stop sticks to halt the stolen vehicle. Mitchell, undeterred by the punctured tires, made a horrifying choice. He veered over the median, deliberately aiming for Simoncic, striking the 26-year-old officer with lethal force before fleeing the scene. Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Karl Oakman described the act as “intentional” and “willful,” a stark declaration that this was no mere accident but a calculated attempt to escape justice. Simoncic, rushed to the University of Kansas Medical Center, succumbed to his injuries, leaving behind a grieving family and a stunned community.
Mitchell’s flight ended in a crash near the 6400 block of Kaw Drive, just before 1 a.m. The stolen truck, its tires shredded, could no longer outrun the law. He was apprehended, treated for minor injuries, and booked into the Wyandotte County Jail. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) swiftly took charge, building a case that includes suspicion of first-degree murder, vehicular homicide, fleeing or attempting to elude police, theft, criminal possession of a firearm, and aggravated failure to appear. Both vehicles Mitchell drove were reported stolen, adding to the litany of charges awaiting formal review by the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office.
But who is Dennis Edward Mitchell III, the man at the center of this tragedy? Court records paint a picture of a habitual offender whose brushes with the law began in 2014 with a drug-related arrest in Wyandotte County. Over the next 11 years, he racked up 17 arrests in the county alone, a staggering tally that includes charges for drug possession, interfering with law enforcement, and probation violations. In 2020, he was arrested for interfering with an officer, and in 2021, he faced suspicion of first-degree murder, though prosecutors declined to press charges due to insufficient evidence. By 2022, Mitchell pleaded guilty in Ellsworth County to fleeing police while engaging in reckless driving—a haunting precursor to the events of August 2025. Most recently, in December 2024, he was charged with felony methamphetamine possession and released on a $7,500 bond, only to fail to appear in court three times, including a missed hearing in July 2025. Outstanding warrants shadowed him, and his decision to flee on that fateful night suggests a man all too familiar with running from consequences.
Legal experts have raised eyebrows at Mitchell’s ability to remain free despite his extensive record. Henry Service, a former prosecutor uninvolved in the case, remarked, “I would not have recommended that he be back out on the streets.” Defense attorney Kiann Caprice, a critic of Wyandotte County’s judicial processes, went further, asserting that Officer Simoncic’s death could have been prevented had Mitchell’s prior cases been handled differently. “One hundred percent,” she said, pointing to systemic issues in bond decisions, which a Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office spokesman noted are ultimately determined by judges.
Mitchell, a Kansas City, Kansas, resident with past ties to Shawnee and El Dorado, now sits in custody as the KBI and Kansas Highway Patrol piece together the final details of the investigation. His actions on August 26 were not merely a moment of panic but the culmination of a long pattern of defiance, marked by a willingness to endanger others to avoid accountability. The stolen vehicles, the calculated switch, the deliberate act of striking an officer—all point to a man who saw no limits in his bid for freedom. As the community grieves the loss of a dedicated officer, Mitchell’s story serves as a grim reminder of the cost of unchecked recidivism and the devastating ripple effects of one man’s choices.