Abby Hoover
Managing Editor

A Kansas City, Mo., police officer, his canine partner and a pedestrian are dead following a crash near Truman Road and Benton Boulevard on February 15.

Just after 10:15 p.m. a police canine officer and his canine partner were on duty and on patrol in the area of Truman Road and Benton Boulevard when their patrol car was struck by another vehicle. The collision caused a secondary impact with a pedestrian.

The pedestrian, identified as 52-year-old Jesse Eckes, was declared deceased at the scene. The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) police canine, Champ, was killed at the scene as well. The officer, identified as James Muhlbauer, was transported to the hospital with critical injuries. Doctors made every attempt at treatment, but he was declared deceased at the hospital.

The driver of the citizen vehicle has minor injuries. KCPD’s Accident Investigation Section is completing the accident reconstruction and the investigation will be led by the Traffic Investigation Section.

Officer Mulhbauer was a 20-year veteran of the KCPD and had been assigned to the Canine Unit for nearly three years. His canine partner was an approximately one-year veteran of the KCPD. Muhlbauer spent his entire career in patrol. Champ lived with Muhlbauer, his wife and son.

The department asks that the public keep the officer’s family, the pedestrian’s family and the whole department in their thoughts and prayers as they deal with this terrible tragedy.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacy Graves, flanked by the Department’s Deputy Chiefs, Mayor Quinton Lucas, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters-Baker and Police Commissioner Dawn Cramer addressed the media Thursday, acknowledging the pain the department is going through.

“Our department is hurting, we’re sad, we’re shaken, but this pales in comparison to what Officer Muhlbauer’s family is going through,” Graves said. “Officer Muhlbauer was married and a loving father.”

Graves also specifically thanked the North Kansas City Police Department who responded to the scene and transported Officer Champ to the hospital to reunite him with Officer Muhlbauer, and together they were given a hero’s escort.

“It has been a challenging path,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “We had an officer who was shot several days ago. We had all of our officers involved in a very significant, substantial operation yesterday, and then you had this occurrence. It’s tragic. So we all grieve with the Kansas City Police Department, we grieve certainly with the officer’s family and the entire city.”

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said her office would be dedicating the time necessary to put together a solid case and continue to work with the police department to make sure justice is served.

The Jackson County Prosecutor has charged 18-year-old Jerron Allen Lightfoot of Tonganoxie, Kan., with the deaths. Lightfoot is charged with two counts of Involuntary Manslaughter in the 1st Degree, a Class C Felony.

Court documents show that Lightfoot was the operator and sole occupant of the vehicle that struck Officer Muhlbauer’s patrol car Wednesday evening, pushing it into the pedestrian (Eckes)

According to charging documents, Officer Muhlbauer was traveling eastbound on Truman Road in his department issue Ford Crown Victoria through a green traffic signal when Lightfoot’s vehicle, traveling southbound on Benton Boulevard at a high rate of speed, ran the red traffic signal, striking Officer Muhlbauer’s vehicle in the driver’s door. A witness at the scene noted that the impact caused the rear of Lightfoot’s vehicle to become airborne. That witness called 911 and remained at the scene until additional officers arrived.

The witness also saw Lightfoot exit his vehicle, appearing not to be injured. The witness next checked the condition of the police officer and found him to be unconscious but with a pulse. K9 Champ was found to be deceased in the second row compartment of the police vehicle. Officer Muhlbauer was transported to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

First responders found Eckes body under Officer Muhlbauer’s patrol vehicle.

When Lightfoot was contacted by officers at the scene he indicated he was okay and stated that the brakes on his Ford Fusion went out.

Detectives reviewed the dash cam video of the police vehicle and found that it was traveling at 33 mph, eastbound on Truman Road, through the green traffic signal at the time of the impact. After obtaining a search warrant, a review of the Fusion’s Airbag Control Module (ACM) showed that at two seconds prior to impact, Lightfoot’s vehicle was traveling at 89.7 mph. Court documents show that Lightfoot’s vehicle struck Officer Muhlbauer’s vehicle at 62.3 mph. Data from the ACM also shows that the vehicle’s brakes were functioning as designed due to the driver’s ability to shave 27.4 mph off his speed before striking the police vehicle.

Lightfoot indicated he had just dropped his girlfriend off at a nearby gas station and was en route back to his home in Tonganoxie. He also indicated that when he attempted to apply his brakes for the red traffic signal, the vehicle vibrated badly. Lightfoot also denied drug or alcohol use prior to the crash.

“My office spoke Thursday evening with the family of our officer victim,” Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said. “We have not yet been able to meet with the family of our pedestrian victim prior to this filing, but we will meet soon with that victim’s family. We extend our condolences to both grieving families and the police department. We are grateful for the pace of the police department’s investigative work that allowed us to file these charges so quickly.”

Lightfoot’s bond was set at $30,000, and he posted the 10%, according to court records. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Adam Caine set house arrest as a condition of his bond, which is required by the county to take place within county limits for monitoring purposes. Each felony charge carries a sentence of three to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He is set to appear back in court on February 27 for a bond review hearing.

The visitation and funeral service for Officer James Muhlbauer and Champ will be Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Municipal Auditorium, 301 W. 13th St. A public visitation will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. The funeral service will follow the visitation at 11:30 a.m. Following the funeral service, Full Honors will be presented outside on 13th Street in front of the auditorium. There will be a uniformed Honor Guard on 13th Street. Emergency vehicle procession route information to follow at a later time. There will be no graveside services.

To support Officer Muhlbauer’s family through this difficult time, the Kansas City Police Memorial Foundation has established a donation link: unionly.io/o/kcfop/honoring-k9-officer-james-muhlbauer.

E2 Embroidery, a union screen printing shop in the East Bottoms, and some members of the Kansas City Missouri Fire Department have partnered to donate $10 from every Each Other’s Keeper T-shirt to the Muhlbauer family. The donation link is: eachotherskeeper2023.itemorder.com.