‘He was victorious’: Community remembers man killed in crash alongside KCPD officer

Mourners with black coats and umbrellas stepped out of the rain and into the Hope Faith Homeless Assistance Campus in northeast Kansas City Friday morning.

The crowd, including city leaders and nonprofit organizers, picked up handfuls of cards. On them, a photo of a smiling man and the words: “In loving memory: Jesse Scott Eckes.”

Some had come because they had helped Eckes in his time of need. Others were there because Eckes had helped them.

For years, Eckes had called the Hope Faith community his friends and family. He’d spent endless hours inside the hall that now held his memorial, connecting with others who’d walked a similar path.

Then, on Feb. 15, hours after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade, a speeding car going at least 85 miles per hour ran a red light at Benton Boulevard and Truman Road, slamming into a police 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.

The crash took his life, as well as the lives of Kansas City Police Department officer James Muhlbauer and his K-9 partner Champ.

Eckes had long experienced homelessness, but loved ones say they’ll remember him as a man who was generous beyond reason.

‘Taken too soon’

Doug Langner, Executive Director of Hope Faith, stepped up to the podium at the memorial after a singer crooned the Beatitudes, standing behind a memorial table with a spread of photos and red and yellow flowers.

“We come today confused,” Langner said. “What happened that day was a tragedy … His life was taken much too soon.”

Eckes, 52, had finally found a place to live a few months before his death. He’d excitedly sent his niece a picture of the furniture he’d chosen for his new home.

The news of Eckes’ death sent a wave of shock and hurt through the community, from Hope Faith to the broader nonprofit circle in Kansas City. The 52-year-old was considered the “eyes and ears” of Hope Faith’s ministry, inviting others on the street into the day center’s doors.

Once, Eckes had saved up enough money to buy himself a coat. But after realizing someone else needed it more, he turned it over to them.

That was just like him, Langner said.

“Jesse didn’t have much, and yet he gave, not from his excess, but even from what he barely held onto himself,” he said.

‘A survivor’

Hope Faith employees saw Eckes as a patient and kind soul. Kathy Elmore, a former staff member, said Eckes had bravely completed the difficult but necessary work to have a place of his own. Despite a lifetime of struggles, he’d persevered in the end.

That’s how she’d like Eckes to be remembered.

“Jesse was a survivor, and he was victorious because that’s who he was,” she said.

When others were without hope, Eckes was there to reassure them they’d be triumphant.

Josh Henges, a houseless prevention coordinator with the City of Kansas City, said Eckes had given others a reason to keep going. Henges said Eckes liked to ride along with him when he went to help others in crisis because he felt he, too, had something to offer.

“Jesse always thought about other people. Always,” Henges said. “He knew that folks needed the absolute best, and they deserved it.”

A livestream video rolled for Eckes family, who watched on from various parts of the country. In a previous interview with The Star, Eckes’ niece Britannie Eckes said the two were close. They’d talk almost every day before the accident.

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

Friday, the room with blue-and-green walls and rows of chairs was filled with Kansas Citians from all backgrounds. Some were council members, politicians and police officers. Many more had stories like Eckes’.

Langner told the attendees he still had much to learn from the man who was devoted to putting his community before himself. He read a familiar passage aloud, as friends wiped away tears while hanging onto his words.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven … Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”