KCPD traffic officer who was hit by truck at Chiefs game transfers to police academy
With lights flashing, members of the Kansas City Police Department’s traffic unit lined up their vehicles to bid farewell to a fellow officer transferring to the police academy to teach new recruits.
The group drove together Wednesday to the Regional Police Academy to say goodbye to Officer Joe Trombino, who was a traffic officer for more than 24 years.
His departure from the traffic unit comes months after he was hit by a pickup truck outside a Kansas City Chiefs game in January.
A video showed him trying to stop a pickup truck that had driven across a line of orange cones into oncoming traffic.
Trombino tried to stop the truck by grabbing onto it. The driver allegedly smiled at Trombino and hit him with the truck, knocking him to the ground. Trombino had some bumps and bruises.
Police have not yet identified the driver of that pickup truck.
In his career, Trombino has written more than 35,000 tickets. He’s also participated in numerous community outreach events including ones that encouraged people to use their seat belts.
On Wednesday when he saw the line of police motorcycles and cars drive into the parking lot of the academy at 6885 N.E. Pleasant Valley Road in Kansas City, North, Trombino appeared surprised.
“You didn’t have to do this,” he said.
“Truly you guys are part of my family,” he told the officers after hugging them. “I don’t know what to say.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2019 at 1:52 PM.
