Family, co-workers of slain NKC officer ask for justice in capital murder trial
Clay County prosecutors presented six additional witnesses Friday, including family and co-workers of murdered North Kansas City officer Daniel Vasquez, who all asked justice be served in the capital murder trial of convicted killer Joshua Rocha.
A jury from St. Charles County, Missouri, found Rocha guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday, advancing the trial to the sentencing stage. Rocha is facing life in prison without parole or probation, or the death sentence.
Rocha shot Vasquez three times with an AR-15, including two misfires, during a traffic stop on July 19, 2022, after being pulled over for expired tags. Rocha left Vasquez’s body lying in the middle of the road at Clay Street and East 21st Avenue, according to dash cam footage played in the courtroom.
The state brought seven witnesses to the stand Thursday. Two witnesses, detectives on the case, testified to how investigating the violent death of a police officer affected them mentally.
Five witnesses testified to evidence against Rocha, revealing nearly 30 videos where Rocha is seen shooting guns and 3-D printing firearm components, and disciplinary issues at detention centers. Another witness testified on Friday that Rocha brought contraband into St. Charles County Corrections with a piece of metal taped under his armpit.
On Friday, the state rested its case with 15 total witnesses testifying during the sentencing stage, a morning marked by emotional testimony.
North Kansas City police officers, including Chief Kevin Freeman and Vasquez’s girlfriend Katie Filger, along with family members, emotionally chronicled the day of the shooting and, through tears, explained how Vasquez’s death has shaken their world.
Similar to a jury, each of the state’s four prosecutors trying the case asked Vasquez’s peers if they believed justice, in the form of the death penalty, should be served, in a yes or no question.
Each witness answered yes.
How loved ones learned of Vasquez’s death
On the day of the shooting, Filger and Vasquez met in front of the station before work, she said. It was the last time they had a chance to hug and kiss, Filger said.
They each performed a few traffic stops that morning, doing several together before going their separate ways. They made plans to meet back at the station later, Filger said. When Vasquez called in his last traffic stop on the police radio, Filger could hear something in his voice that made her think.
“He sounded different during this traffic stop,” Filger said during her testimony.
North Kansas City police officer Brandon Keeton, the first officer on scene, called in “officer down” on the police radio. Filger, fearing the worst, waited for Vasquez to radio in and say he was ok, she said.
Vasquez’s voice never came.
Quickly pulling into the officer-filled scene, Filger ran towards Vasquez’s body in the road, but was turned away by another officer. An officer from an assisting agency drove her to the hospital, where she said she waited frantically for an update.
Filger’s phone was blowing up, she said, since a Blue Alert was sent out statewide after the shooting. She waited and tried to imagine Vasquez walking through the door with his big smile.
“It never came,” Filger testified.
Vasquez, the youngest in his family with two sisters, died from gunshot wounds to his face and abdomen.
One of his sisters, Areli Vasquez Nunez, was the first to receive a call from Chief Freeman that her brother was in the hospital in critical condition, she said. When the Blue Alert rang out, she texted her brother asking if he was ok.
Freeman called her soon after, according to Vasquez Nunez.
Vasquez Nunez called each of her family members, explaining the situation. Once at the hospital, Vasquez Nunez, who is also an emergency room nurse, could tell her brother’s condition was likely grim by the rooms they were placed in at the hospital.
Doctors soon broke the news to the family, stating Vasquez’s injuries were too critical, according to Vasquez Nunez.
In one of their last moments with Vasquez’s body at the hospital, their parents continued to wipe blood from Vasquez’s bleeding wounds.
“His chest is still moving,” their mother said, according to Vasquez Nunez. “God, please let him get up.”
Each family member who testified said they constantly think about their loved one and never forget the day he died, when they held his cold hand.
At the hospital, Filger held Vasquez’s hand, kissed his forehead and gave him one last message.
“I’ll always love you.”
Vasquez’s big personality warmed those around him
Loved ones testified to how Vasquez’s warm, outgoing personality and big, infectious smile made him a huge presence in their lives.
Vasquez’s family moved to Kansas City, Kansas, from Mexico in 1989 and had Vasquez in 1990, according to Vasquez’s other sister Eunice Zuniga. A J.C. Harmon High School graduate, he loved playing and watching sports, attending Kansas City Royals and Sporting KC games with his brother-in-law, Luis Zuniga, and his nephew.
He was also in the marching band, jazz band, and orchestra in high school, playing the cello, violin, and drums. Vasquez was a big griller and eater, enjoying his mother’s cooking and McDonald’s, Vasquez Nunez said.
He was an attentive uncle to his niece and nephew, loved ones said, often spending time with them and counseling his 14-year-old niece, who also wants to be a police officer.
He loved weight lifting, encouraging Filger to attend the gym, Filger said. The couple also went hunting, fishing and tended to the cattle on Filger’s family farm.
Vasquez always wanted to be a police officer, family members said, practicing arrests by detaining stuffed animals as a child. He was a good officer as well, according to NKC police Maj. Justin Holm, as he frequently sought feedback from supervisors and attended voluntary training.
“You have those people that add to your day,” Holm said. Holm’s first day as administrative sergeant was Vasquez’s first day on the job. “They just make your day better.”
Vasquez joined the North Kansas City Police Department in January 2021 as a recruit officer and was promoted to full officer after graduating from the KCPD Regional Police Academy in July 2021, according to his obituary.
Vasquez’s sudden, violent death heavily affected his loved ones, as well as the department he worked for and community he served.
“It shook our city to its core,” Freeman testified. “You hope and pray it never comes to your doorstep and on July 19 it came to our doorstep.”
“It still hurts everyday,” Eunice Zuniga said.
“There was a lot of evil in this world and he wanted to do something good,” Vasquez Nunez said.
Luis Zuniga said he often goes to the scene where Vasquez was shot, about every other day. A pole displaying Vazquez’s badge number has been placed at the Clay Street and East 21st Avenue intersection in Vasquez’s memory.
“It’s where his dreams were shot down,” Zuniga said. “Everything stops right here.”
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 5:55 PM.
