Public prosecutor: Man allegedly attacked off-duty police officer with metal chair in city center supermarket

A Kansas City man is facing assault charges after he allegedly repeatedly struck a police officer in the head with a metal chair at a downtown grocery store, seriously injuring him.

Jorge I. Arroyo, 39, was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, said Michael Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office.

The alleged robbery occurred early Sunday morning at Cosentino’s Downtown Market on East 13th Street in Kansas City’s Power & Light district. After store employees told a KCPD police sergeant inside the store that Arroyo had been caught stealing, the sergeant ordered Arroyo to leave and began carrying his belongings out of the store, Mansur said.

Arroyo allegedly responded by repeatedly hitting the officer in the head with a metal chair, Mansur said. The officer was off-duty but wearing his KCPD uniform, Mansur said. Several people witnessed Arroyo’s attack, Mansur said.

At about 8:15 a.m., more officers arrived at Cosentino’s to arrest Arroyo, Mansur said. He was initially held at the police station before prosecutors filed charges against him, according to Capt. Jake Becchina, a Kansas City police spokesman.

Arroyo is being held at the Jackson County Detention Center, according to inmate records. The indictment in Arroyo’s case has not yet been made public, but prosecutors have requested that his bail be set at $150,000.

If convicted, Arroyo’s sentence could be affected by the fact that police officers are considered special victims in assault charges.

The officer’s injuries required hospitalization, Becchina said. They included deep cuts to the head that required surgery and 30 stitches, Mansur said.

According to Becchina, the officer is expected to be released within the next day.