Updated October 18, 2024 at 09:58 AM ET
A deaf Black man with cerebral palsy was allegedly beaten and shocked with a taser by Phoenix police officers this summer, in a violent incident that has gained national attention following the release of police body camera footage.
In the recently publicized bodycam footage, Tyron McAlpin, 34, can be seen walking through a parking lot in Phoenix on Aug. 19 when he is approached by two officers in separate police vehicles. The footage was provided to NPR by the McAlpin's attorney.
Within seconds of first addressing McAlpin, who is deaf, officer Benjamin Harris jumps out of his vehicle and begins punching McAlpin, followed closely behind by officer Kyle Sue, who presses McAlpin into the ground and repeatedly punches him as well, the footage shows.
The incident began shortly before at a neighboring Circle K convenience store where employees had called to complain about a white man, identified in the police report as Derek Stevens. The caller said Stevens had been the aggressor in an altercation and was still loitering on the property.
Upon arrival at the scene, according to the bodycam footage, Harris and Sue briefly speak to Stevens, who then claims that he was instead the victim of an assault at the hands of McAlpin. Stevens claimed McAlpin had punched him and stolen his phone.
The man points out McAlpin, who is across the street. Without questioning any witnesses on the scene about Stevens' claim, the two officers quickly get in their cars to pursue McAlpin.
Harris — who later in the footage complains that he thinks he has broken his hand punching McAlpin — shocks McAlpin with a Taser at least four times as the disabled man writhes on the ground and moans, the bodycam footage shows.
Several minutes after the violent confrontation first began and while McAlpin was restrained on the ground in handcuffs, a woman identifying herself as McAlpin’s wife arrived and explained to officers that McAlpin is deaf and has cerebral palsy.
When she asked the officers to help McAlpin understand that she was there, Harris responded bluntly: “No. He doesn’t need to know.”
McAlpin was arrested and charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault and one felony count of resisting arrest, according to the arrest record. He spent 24 days in jail because he could not afford his $7,500 bail, attorney Jesse Showalter said. He was eventually able to afford his release thanks to The Bail Project, a nonprofit organization.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced Friday that those charges against McAlpin are now dismissed following a review with "senior attorneys and members of the community."
Mitchell said she was urged to review the case after a leader of the local chapter of the NAACP expressed concern over McAlpin's prosecution, she said in a statement. "I promised I would personally review the case including a large volume of video recordings, police reports, and other materials that have been forwarded to my office," Mitchell said.
“Tyron never assaulted Derek Stevens nor has Tyron ever been charged with assaulting Derek Stevens,” Showalter told NPR in an email. “Our investigator has spoken to employees at the Circle K who were present that morning and who stated definitively that Tyron did not assault Derek Stevens.”
Showalter also points to the police report following the incident, which NPR has reviewed, that said a different officer had returned to the convenience store and viewed surveillance footage from the incident. Showalter said that that footage showed Stevens acting bizarrely and did not seem to show McAlpin committing any wrongdoing.
Showalter said his office is investigating what conditions McAlpin was held under in the jail and whether any accommodations had been made for his disabilities during that time.
The DOJ found "overwhelming" evidence of Phoenix police discrimination
This incident occurred just months after a June report from the Department of Justice found "overwhelming statistical evidence" that Phoenix police discriminate against Black, Hispanic and Native American people, unlawfully detain homeless people and use excessive force, including unjustified deadly force.
“The surveillance and body camera videos show that Officers Harris and Sue immediately used unnecessary force against Tyron,” Showalter said.
“We believe that this is consistent with Phoenix’s history of training officers to ‘escalate.’ In other words, Phoenix officers have been trained to use significant force to overwhelm American Citizens as a means of ‘preventing resistance’ before any resistance actually exists,” the attorney said. “We believe that this case highlights a culture within the Phoenix Police Department that ignores the Constitutional rights of American citizens like Tyron.”
Despite the historic findings from the three-year DOJ investigation, Phoenix law enforcement has been resistant to reform, with the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association publicly condemning the report.
In a statement to the media this week, the Phoenix Police Department said: “There was nothing that the officers were told or witnessed to indicate Mr. McAlpin was hearing impaired.”
The incident is under investigation by the department’s internal affairs division.
"This incident is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation and was assigned to the Professional Standards Bureau on August 30, 2024," the department said in a statement. It said that both of the officers involved "are currently working in their assigned duties."
Mayor says the case warrants a "thorough investigation"
Following public outcry, city officials in Phoenix have acknowledged the bodycam video and said that transparency would be key during any investigations into the officers’ actions.
“I have watched the body-camera footage from a police interaction with Tyron McAlpin," Mayor Kate Gallego said, according to member station KJZZ. "I share the deep concern we’ve heard from some in our community, and this incident warrants a full and thorough investigation."
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