KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to KSHB 41 News a trial date has been set for Nov. 14, 2022, for Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department Sgt. Matthew Neal.
Neal was indicted by a Jackson County grand jury in August 2020 on one count of third-degree assault.
He allegedly kneeled on a 15-year-old boy’s neck and struck him with his knee, causing the teen to suffer multiple chipped front teeth and a forehead gash that required eight stitches.
The incident happened Nov. 14, 2019, in the Go Chicken Go parking lot near East 51st Street and Troost Avenue.
Police said they tried to pull over the 15-year-old, the passenger of the vehicle, after the driver ran a stop sign.
Police said the driver did not stop when police attempted to pull them over, which led to a chase that ended at the Go Chicken Go.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker referenced KCPD audio from the encounter when she originally announced the charge against Neal.
“The victim can be heard saying, ‘I can’t breathe,’” Peters Baker previously said. “Those are now pretty infamous words, but those were his words back in November 2019.”
In October 2020, Neal entered a not-guilty plea.
Neal was placed on administrative leave following the conclusion of the internal KCPD investigation.
