RAYTOWN, Mo. — A Kansas City firefighter has been charged for assaulting a neighbor in an apparent road rage incident that happened on Tuesday, Aug. 27.
Pleaze Robinson, 52, was arrested after he grabbed his neighbor from behind, threw her to the ground and assaulted her, according Jackson County court documents. The attack happened near Raytown High School at E. 59th Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard around 7 a.m.
Robinson has been employed with KCFD since September 2001. The department said, in accordance with city policy and current labor agreements, he’s been suspended pending an investigation.
“He punched me and then he threw me to the ground… He sat on my back and just started punching me, just kept on punching me,” the victim of the attack said.
The victim, who didn’t want to use her name, told FOX4 she believes the assault was part of a long-standing neighborhood feud that had been escalating for almost 20 years. Other neighbors agreed, saying Robinson made threats and harassed people on the block. Each time, someone would call the police, but nothing would happen.
“Police won’t do anything to him. They always let him off the hook,” John Diibon, a neighbor and fellow firefighter, said.
KCPD confirms they’ve previously responded to the home in question. They said they had not found enough evidence to arrest the man for making threats.
Robinson was honored in 2014 for assisting a police officer involved in a fight, according to a Facebook post by the organization Equality for Firefighters through Education, Community Service and Training. He was awarded for “upholding the values of Honor and Courage.”
Robinson now faces third-degree assault. Prosecutors have requested a $25,000 bond.
