Ex-suburban KC police chief who ‘brutally assaulted’ wife convicted of felony: Prosecutor

A former suburban Kansas City police chief was convicted Tuesday of beating his ex-wife, who reported in June 2020 that she lost consciousness after he punched her in the face.

Greg Hallgrimson, 53, formerly the top cop in Greenwood, in southeast Jackson County, was found guilty by a Clay County jury of one count of first-degree domestic assault, a Class A felony that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Hallgrimson resigned from the small police force in June 2019 after he beat up an attempted murder suspect who was handcuffed in a police interrogation room.

In the Clay County case, Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said Tuesday that Hallgrimson “brutally assaulted” his wife physically and also subjected her to “emotional and psychological manipulation.”

“Despite this, she bravely spoke up and fought for the justice she deserves,” Thompson said in a statement, adding: “This case demonstrates that delayed disclosure is not a bar to justice. If someone is a victim of domestic abuse in Clay County, our office will do everything in its power to help them obtain justice.”

Attorneys for Hallgrimson did not immediately respond to The Star’s email requesting comment late Tuesday afternoon. Defense attorney Kenneth C. Hensley filed a motion for acquittal at the close of the state’s case, saying Hallgrimson was slapped first and was entitled to defend himself under Missouri’s self-defense law.

Kansas City police officers began investigating the case when Hallgrimson’s ex-wife reported the assault in November 2021. She said they were in an argument about their relationship and she slapped him.

After he punched her in the face, she said she blacked out for several seconds. At the hospital, she made up a story that she had fallen down the stairs.

She told detectives at the time that she was afraid to file a report right away. Among the evidence given to authorities were medical bills and a recording she made with her cellphone.

Family court records show Hallgrimson’s wife filed for divorce in 2017. It was uncontested and finalized two months later. Prosecutors say the pair had been living together again in 2020 at the time of the incident.

The felony conviction is the second for Hallgrimson.

The former chief was at the center of a heroic story in December 2018 when he and another officer rescued a baby left in a pond in Greenwood, a suburb of about 5,000 people.

Hallgrimson drove there after 33-year-old Jonathan Zicarelli, the child’s father, walked into the police station and confessed to killing his daughter. He said he had been planning to kill her for about a day, after having “bad thoughts,” and told them where they could find her body.

Hallgrimson and another officer responded to the icy retention pond and found the 6-month-old in time to save her life. She had water in her lungs and severe hypothermia. He has advocated for increased mental health services for emergency workers.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Zicarelli the next day. He was ultimately convicted of felony child abuse and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Weeks after the child’s life was saved, an event one officer described as a “miracle,” Greenwood’s Board of Aldermen put Hallgrimson on administrative leave as the FBI opened an investigation into violation of Zicarelli’s civil rights.

Hallgrimson later admitted that he walked into a police interrogation room where Zicarelli was seated with hands cuffed behind his back. The chief grabbed Zicarelli out of the chair, screaming and striking him several times with a closed fist.

Another officer pulled Hallgrimson off Zicarelli. Other department employees heard Hallgrimson saying he had “crossed the line” and that he was going to resign.

Authorities determined Zicarelli presented no threat at the time and Hallgrimson’s use of force was objectively unreasonable.

The event marked the beginning of the end of Hallgrimson’s law enforcement career. Hallgrimson later told The Star the trauma of seeing a 6-month-old baby floating in an icy pond played a large part in how he conducted himself with Zicarelli.

Following his guilty plea on one count of deprivation of rights, a federal judge sentenced Hallgrimson to five years of probation.

Hallgrimson is scheduled to appear before a Clay County judge Oct. 20 for sentencing in the domestic assault case.