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Background: The Jackson County Detention Center in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jackson County Sheriff’s Office). Inset: Matthew Proctor (Jackson County Sheriff’s Office).
A man is suspected of triggering a seizure in a teenager by repeatedly punching him in the face and then continuing the assault as the teen lay on the ground.
Matthew Proctor, 41, faces charges of child abuse following the event. He was detained and incarcerated at the Jackson County Detention Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
The incident allegedly transpired just before 11 a.m. on Tuesday when Proctor arrived at a residence where his children were present. This happened because “someone answered the phone disrespectfully,” as detailed in a probable cause statement by the police. According to the homeowner, Proctor requested to see his children, which prompted his son to check on the disturbance and confront him.
The violence reportedly took place at that moment. Although the probable cause document conceals the identity of the victim, it indicates the individual was likely the 15-year-old identified as Proctor’s son, who confronted his father outside.
Police noted that Proctor struck the minor “in the face with a closed fist about three times,” causing the boy to collapse. Subsequently, the teen started having a seizure, and Proctor allegedly punched him two more times in the face.
The court document maintains that several people under the age of 18 were present and their accounts “were consistent” with the homeowner’s. They also added key details helping authorities build their case.
The family reportedly had plans to go to Worlds of Fun – a theme park – in Kansas City that day. However, “a phone conversation between Matthew and a child” he shared with a witness “became heated, prompting his visit,” this witness told police. Proctor was said to have been “trippin” as he planned to pick up two of his children at the residence in question. One person became “mute” when they heard Proctor was coming, the court document states.
Before Proctor got there, he allegedly threatened violence, saying he would “beat” someone’s “a–” when he arrived. One person at the residence – believed to be the minor who was hit or his younger brother – “became concerned” because Proctor had reportedly some time previously “punched the air out of his lungs.”
The suspect arrived, and the fight ensued, which included one person there screaming “bloody murder.” Proctor’s eldest daughter “hit him in the back,” and shortly after, Proctor grabbed who is believed to be his youngest son and drove away.
By the time police officers arrived, the 15-year-old boy was being walked to an ambulance. He “was observed to have a red mark and swelling on the left side of his face” as well as “injuries on both sides of his face, his jaw, and a concussion,” and he was brought to a nearby children’s hospital, per the heavily redacted probable cause statement form.
Proctor was gone, but he was arrested about 35 minutes later at a different residence, authorities said. When they spoke with him, he had “minor redness on his lower lip” and claimed he was the one who was hit first.
The suspect said he was hit “in his mouth two times” and “responded by swinging his fist sideways and hitting” the alleged victim “in the side of his head one time” before Proctor’s eldest daughter hit her father in the back and he left.
When he was told of the minor’s injuries, Proctor “said he didn’t know how” that was possible, maintaining he “only hit him one time.” He later suggested the injury could have been from the fall to the ground, police said.
A Ring doorbell camera from a neighbor reportedly captured the fight. Proctor was made aware of this, and when asked if it would back up his account of events, he allegedly responded, “How do I know?”
The video is said to have shown a man matching Proctor’s description and attire approaching someone on the steps of the porch before the minor exited the house. “Matthew then strikes [the alleged victim] twice in the right side of his head/face,” police detailed.
The minor “falls to the ground and Matthew strikes him one more time while he’s down,” before a woman “confronts Matthew.” The suspect left the scene, and police noted their key point: “The male presumed to be [the alleged victim] never appeared to hit Matthew.”
The charges were filed against Proctor, and police said he “poses a threat to the victim.” He is being held on a $75,000 bond. His next court date is Aug. 6.