Sedgwick County deputy Kunze wasn’t ‘just some guy in a uniform,’ former trainee says

Deputy Robert Kunze was never “just some guy in a uniform,” one of his former coworkers said after hearing that he had been shot and killed in the line of duty.

The 12-year veteran with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office was responding to a call about a suspicious character Sunday when the suspect shot and killed him.

“I really feel like people deserve to know who he was — and what they lost,” former reserve deputy Teresa Lee told The Wichita Eagle.

Lee said she worked with Kunze for about three years while she was a volunteer deputy for the sheriff’s office. She could not remember when she first met Kunze, but she said Sheriff Jeff Easter had just been elected. Easter was elected in 2012.

“Kunze wasn’t just an anonymous face to me,” Lee posted to Facebook. “He wasn’t just another deputy.”

Kunze was her primary field training officer, she said, and as a volunteer, she worked with many officers.

But Kunze was different.

“I know people say this when people pass away — they say, ‘Oh, he was a nice guy’ — but he was a super nice guy who always had a smile on his face, always making jokes, always laughing,” she continued. “I knew no matter how frustrated or overwhelmed I was, I knew I’d have a good day because I was with Kunze.”

During Sunday’s news conference regarding the shooting, Easter said the department will remember Kunze for “his smile, his contagious laugh and his ability to engage anyone and everyone in a conversation.”

He also worked with great pride, Easter said.

Kunze, 41, joined the department in 2006 after previously working with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office for six years.

“It’s such a devastating lost because he was a good deputy,” Lee said. “He was personable, able to talk to people with the greatest ease, he had a ton of knowledge...”

Easter said the deputy’s death is a tragedy.

“A family member of ours has been killed in the line of duty,” he said on Sunday.

Other employees with the sheriff’s office were not ready to speak about this loss, sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Tim Meyers said.

“This tragedy is very much an open wound for all of the employees of the Sheriff’s Office,” he said.

Kunze is survived by his wife and daughter.

The sheriff’s office is hosting a candlelight vigil for Kunze at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Wichita/Sedgwick Law Enforcement Memorial in front of Wichita’s City Hall near Central and Main.

Funeral services for Deputy Robert K. Kunze III will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Central Community Church, 6100 W. Maple. Following the service, a procession will make its way to Resthaven Gardens of Memory, 11800 W. Kellogg. Viewing will be Wednesday and Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at Resthaven Mortuary.

The sheriff’s office is accepting cards and messages of condolences for Kunze’s family. They may be sent to the Sheriff’s Office at 141 W. Elm, Wichita, KS 67203. Donations may be made to the family through the Honore Adversis Foundation.

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer ordered flags to be flown at half-staff statewide from sunrise to sunset on Friday in honor of Kunze’s funeral. He also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in Sedgwick County on Monday and Tuesday.

Contributing: Jason Tidd of The Eagle

This story was originally published September 17, 2018 at 2:27 PM.