Man sentenced to prison in assault of off-duty officer at downtown KC market
A Jackson County judge sentenced a 40-year-old man to five years in Missouri prison for striking an off-duty Kansas City police officer working security over the head with a metal chair at a downtown grocery store, according to court documents.
A jury found Jorge I. Arroyo guilty last month of second-degree assault and armed criminal action in the attack that occurred June 30, 2024, at Cosentino’s Market, at East 13th and Main streets in Kansas City’s downtown.
Following the jury’s recommendation, Judge J. Dale Youngs sentenced Arroyo to 2 years for the assault charge and 3 years for the armed criminal action charge, with the sentences to run consecutively for a total term of 5 years.
According to court documents, an off-duty Kansas City police sergeant was working security. At the request of store staff, he had asked Arroyo to leave because he had allegedly been previously trespassed from the store for stealing.
As the sergeant began placing Arroyo’s items outside the store, he became enraged and picked up a metal chair and hit the officer in the head several times. The sergeant tripped and fell to the ground, and Arroyo continued to strike him with the chair or punched him.
The officer called for help over his radio, and fellow officers responded to the store to assist the officer. Arriving officers found store staff and customers restraining Arroyo. The sergeant was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries, according to court documents.
