He had just found a home. Then a crash took his life, along with a KC police officer

A few months ago, Britannie Eckes was struggling to afford diapers and pull-ups for her children.

The 27-year-old mother to a 16-month-old and 3-year-old found help through her uncle, Jesse Eckes. The 52-year-old, who was navigating chronic homelessness, sent her what little money he had.

It was normal for them to talk almost every day — the niece from her Muncie, Indiana, home, and the uncle from Kansas City. That’s why Britannie Eckes started to feel a pit in her stomach when she hadn’t heard from him in a few days.

On Monday, she got the call that her uncle had been killed six days earlier in a crash that also took the life of a police officer and his K-9.

The crash

A crash was reported at 10:18 p.m Feb. 15, hours after Kansas Citians celebrated the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory with a parade.

Kansas City Police officer James Muhlbauer, who was on patrol with his K-9 partner Champ, was driving east on Truman Road when, at the intersection of Benton Boulevard, a white Ford Fusion traveling at what authorities said was at least 85 miles per hour ran a red light and crashed into the driver’s side of his patrol car.

The impact of the crash caused the patrol car to hit Eckes, who was sitting on a concrete traffic signal island nearby, authorities said. After the crash, his body was found under the patrol car by first responders.

Eckes and police dog Champ were declared dead at the scene. Muhlbauer died a short time later at the hospital.

“We’re all heartbroken,” Brittanie Eckes said. “He definitely did not deserve this. He was doing good.”

The dangers of homelessness

Eckes had been experiencing homelessness in Kansas City since at least 2019, when he was first recorded as seeking services at the Hope Faith-Homeless Assistance Campus.

Doug Langner, executive director of Hope Faith Ministries, said Eckes mostly kept to himself, unless he saw someone in need of a good joke.

“In many ways people said he was eyes and ears on the street for people experiencing this (homelessness),” Langner said. “We in essence lost another person who was trying to just do his best to move people forward while he was trying to do the same with his own life.”

Feb. 3 is the last time there is record of Eckes visiting Hope Faith, when he came in for a shower and a hot meal, Langner said.

Langner said his death is further proof that living on the streets is dangerous, especially when traveling on the Truman Road corridor, like so many people experiencing homelessness do.

On Friday, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced her office filed two counts of involuntary manslaughter against Jerron Lightfoot, 18, of Tonganoxie, for operating a vehicle at an excessive speed and running a red light, causing the fatal crash.

A public visitation and funeral procession for Muhlbauer, 42, a 20-year veteran of the Kansas City Police Department, a father and a husband, is planned for Wednesday.

“As we rightfully are mourning an officer killed in the line of duty, this affects our neighbors too, our houseless, too,” Langner said. “The whole thing is just completely tragic, and we don’t want Jesse to be forgotten in this too.”

Making a life in Kansas City

Jesse Eckes had a difficult childhood. From a young age, he was in and out of the criminal justice system, family said.

His younger sister, Amanda Dunbar, 47, of Jamestown, Kentucky, said while she didn’t see him much growing up, she recalled her brother making a point to host cookouts in the park for the neighborhood when he was released from jail or prison.

“That was just kind of his nature,” she said. “He kind of lived his own life, just kind of on the go. He never needed much, but I know he was always willing to help anybody at any time.”

Though they hadn’t spoken in some years, Dunbar said she was grateful to learn her brother had established some sense of community in Kansas City.

A few weeks before he was killed, Eckes finally got a place of his own. He sent pictures to his niece of the first pieces of furniture he owned, including a bed, table, chairs and crock pot. He was still on the hunt for plates and a couch.

“I told him I was proud of him,” Brittanie Eckes said.