Man shot and killed after protest Sunday in Kansas City was family man, photographer
Marvin Francois kept toward the back of the protest lines Sunday.
Camera in hand, the hobbyist photographer wanted to document the most peaceful corners of the demonstration against police brutality and civil injustices.
One of the last photos taken by the 50-year-old father of four was of Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas smiling at him in a black and white image taken near the Country Club Plaza.
Hours later and a block away, Francois, a Kansas Citian, was picking up one of his sons from the protest when he was shot dead in a robbery.
Family and friends described Francois as a voracious reader, ever eager to share knowledge, the neighborhood handy-man, and above all, a family man who taught his children the importance of standing up to injustice.
A promising childhood
Francois was an Army brat, raised between America and Germany, who had some difficulties in school, his mother, Julie Francois, 71, said when reached by phone at her Albuquerque home.
“Everything they wanted to teach him he already knew” she said.
When Francois, her oldest son, saw his first computer he practically crawled into it trying to learn how it worked. While other moms were shaking sand out of their kids’ sheets, she found computer wires in his blankets.
As a young adult, he joined the Army. He studied chemical engineering and computer science at the Missouri University of Science and Technology back when it was called University of Missouri–Rolla. He most recently worked as a senior engineer at Medqor and Senior Vice President of Technology at Chronicle Health.
Francois didn’t often drive to visit his mother in New Mexico. But when he did, it was to take photos together. It was always an adventure, his mother said.
On their most recent trip photographing the desert wilderness, their Jeep got stuck in a large puddle. Francois gathered up dead brush and built a bridge. Another problem solved.
Francois planned to drive to New Mexico this summer for one last adventure before it became too difficult for his mother to travel. She said they hoped to photograph the Milky Way above The Very Large Array, a popular expanse of satellite dishes in the desert.
She is proud of her son’s intelligence and accomplishments. Proud that he joined in the Women’s March and advocated for gay rights.
But she’s most proud of the family he built.
“His true compassion for every human, for everything living,” she said. “He tried to see everybody’s viewpoints. You could always count on Marvin.”
‘Standing up for people’
Francois raised his children to stand up for what’s right. If they saw something wrong, it was their responsibility to fix it. His children were his pride and joy.
Some weekends, when all four of his children gathered together, he would take them on a family photo shoot.
Last weekend they went to the Rose Garden at Loose Park. They beamed at him through the camera lens. All four were celebrating graduations. His youngest daughter graduated from junior high. His two sons graduated from high school. His oldest daughter graduated with her associates degree.
“It really filled him with so much joy to see that we were all making it through school, to see that we were all doing so well,” his oldest daughter, Cheyenne Francois, said. “So we just have to keep pushing through school and make sure we make him proud.”
She plans to continue toward a bachelor’s degree in computer science, following in her father’s footsteps.
“His life was so happy. He found so much joy in computer and photos. I just loved the way he lived life,” she said. “I found a connection with him in that.”
He didn’t just teach his children about technology. He also taught them self-defense and how to to stand up for others.
Francois put security cameras around his neighborhood. If a crime occurred, he’d go through the footage to share anything he saw with police. When a heavy snow left some of his neighbors blocked in, he used his Jeep to help get them out.
“Every day he talked about standing up for people,” his oldest daughter said.
Documenting peace
Once, during a family visit to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Francois and his children came across a newlywed couple. He offered to take wedding photos for them. He later sent them the photos for free.
Brandon Francois’s father taught him to change the brake pads on his car. Last winter he helped Brandon build a website for a clothing company he hopes to start. He passed along his love of photography.
But more than anything, the man was always out to do the greater good, the 18-year-old Francois said.
“If you see any injustices you have to speak out because the other person might not be able to speak out,” he recalled his father telling him.
Brandon, Cheyenne and their father joined in Sunday’s protest.
While his children went toward the front, Francois, whom his children described as non-confrontational, stayed toward the back to capture the most peaceful side of the crowd. Cheyenne felt safer knowing he was there.
Brandon had participated in Saturday’s protest. He was pepper-sprayed six times and tear-gassed twice.
“I’m sure I wouldn’t have been out there a second day if I wasn’t thinking about how my dad would want me to be out there,” Brandon said. “I knew I had to go back out there and keep fighting. I’d rather take the small pain now for a bigger goal.”
Eventually, the eldest Francois went home. He posted a gallery of protest photos on Facebook, then drove back to the Plaza to pick up Brandon, whose phone died.
‘I don’t think he was in pain’
A protester was getting into a vehicle after 10 p.m. Sunday when they saw a middle-aged man speaking with three younger men while standing beside a Jeep. Then the protester saw the three younger men, dressed all in black, shoot the older man in what police now believe was a robbery.
Bystanders rushed toward the injured man. It was Francois.
Someone called 911, asking them to come to assist a shooting victim at Warwick Boulevard and East 46th Street in Kansas City’s Midtown neighborhood, about two blocks from where demonstrators protested police killings, racism and other issues throughout the afternoon.
One witness took off their shirt, pressing the fabric against one of the bullet holes. Another held his hand, noticing the wedding band on his left ring finger. They wondered if his wife knew he was taking his last gasping breaths.
They prayed.
Police arrived moments later. Paramedics pressed rhythmically on his chest.
“I don’t think he was in pain,” said one witness, who asked to remain anonymous for their own safety. “I don’t think he felt anything at all. I think he was just slipping into the dark.”
No suspect information was available as of early Wednesday afternoon. The anonymous witness dispelled rumors circulating on social media that officers killed Francois.
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
A GoFundMe account has been established to support the Francois family.
Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help.
To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
