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 accused of causing a teenager to have a seizure by punching him in the face several times – and then continuing to hit the minor “into the ground” while he suffered.
Matthew Proctor, 41, was charged with child abuse for the incident. He was arrested and placed in the Jackson County Detention Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
The attack reportedly occurred just before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, when Proctor showed up to a house where his kids were because “someone had answered the phone disrespectfully,” according to a probable cause statement by police. The homeowner told officers with the Kansas City Police Department that Proctor “asked for his kids,” and his son “heard the commotion, came outside, and yelled at Matthew.”
That is when the violence is said to have occurred. While the probable cause statement redacts the identity of the person who was hit, it appears it was the same 15-year-old boy identified as Proctor’s son, who exited the home and confronted his father.
Proctor “hit” the minor “in the face with a closed fist about three times” and the minor “fell to the ground,” police said. The minor then “began to have a seizure and Matthew hit 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.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
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.
