Authorities talk at the scene after a police detective was shot near the Kansas Speedway on Monday, May 9, 2016, in Kansas City, Kan. A Kansas City, Kan., police detective helping respond to a report of a suspicious person near a racetrack was fatally shot Monday. (Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star via AP)

Kansas City, Kan. ? Colleagues of a slain Kansas police detective say the late officer’s handcuffs will be used on the man charged in the killing when the suspect is released from the hospital.

Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Terry Zeigler described the plan in a tweet that says “words cannot express what this means to our department.”

The Kansas City Star reports that it’s not yet clear when 28-year-old Curtis Ayers will be released from the hospital.

Ayers is accused of fatally shooting Kansas City, Kansas, police Detective Brad Lancaster. Ayers has been hospitalized since being shot by police hours later in Kansas City, Missouri, during his May 9 arrest.

Words cannot express what this means to our Department. @KCPoliceDept @ChiefForte pic.twitter.com/sNAwwhXIJM

— Terry Zeigler (@KCKPDChief) May 17, 2016