Kansas City police sergeant charged with assaulting teen to enter plea in court

A Kansas City police sergeant is expected to plead guilty to a felony assault charge for allegedly smashing the face of a 15-year-old boy in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant nearly three years ago.

Sgt. Matthew T. Neal faces a charge of third-degree assault after being indicted by a Jackson County grand jury related to an encounter Nov. 14, 2019, in the parking lot of Go Chicken Go at 51st Street and Troost Avenue.

The teen suffered broken teeth, bruising to his head and a gash on his head. As he was lying on the pavement, Neal forced his knee on the back of the teen’s head, according to prosecutors.

The victim was heard pleading “I can’t breathe,” prosecutors alleged.

A court record Wednesday showed that Neal was scheduled to enter the plea during a hearing that will be held virtually Oct. 27. Neal had previously pleaded not guilty and remains free on bond.

A criminal trial was scheduled to begin Nov. 14.

Officer remains employed by KCPD

Neal remains employed with the police department and is assigned to the executive services bureau, Officer Donna Drake, a police spokesperson, said in an email to The Star.

Drake said the police department does not comment on pending litigation, “to ensure fairness for all sides involved.”

Sean McCauley, who listed in court records as the attorney representing Neal, did not respond to request by The Star seeking for comment.

The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners agreed to pay $725,000 to settle an excessive use of force allegation against Neal and the police department.

Tom Porto, the attorney for the teen, declined to comment.

According to prosecutors, the victim was a passenger in a car that fled as police tried to pull it over.

The car pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot. The driver and the teen exited the vehicle and got on their hands and knees with their hands raised.

Prosecutors said the teen did not struggle or pull away. Neal pressed his knee into the teen’s head and neck, pinning his face into the pavement and causing him to struggle to breathe.

The teen was not arrested or charged with any crime associated with the incident. He was treated at Children’s Mercy Hospital, where he received six stitches near his hairline, according to court records.

Other officers face charges

Three other Kansas City police officers are facing criminal charges.

Matthew Brummett and Charles Prichard, who are no longer with the police department, are both charged with felony assault for allegedly using excessive force when they arrested Breona Hill, a transgender woman, in May 2019. A video captured the officers pinning her to the ground and slamming her head into the pavement. They are scheduled to go to trial on Nov. 28.

Nicholas McQuillen faces a misdemeanor assault charge after he was seen in a viral video dousing a man and his teenage daughter with pepper spray at a protest at the Plaza in the summer of 2020.

McQuillen, who is currently assigned to the patrol division, is scheduled to go to trial on those charges on Dec. 12. Earlier this year, the police department paid $110,000 in a legal settlement to the teenage girl.

Eric J. DeValkenaere, a former detective, was sentenced to six years in prison for the Dec. 3, 2019 shooting death of a Black man. He remains free on bond while he appeals the conviction.

DeValkenaere was convicted of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the killing of Cameron Lamb, who was backing his pickup truck into his garage.

A Jackson County judge sentenced DeValkenaere to three years on the involuntary manslaughter conviction and six years on the armed criminal action conviction, the sentences to run concurrently.