Phoenix police officers Ben Harris and Kyle Sue are under investigation for their use of excessive force against Tyron McAlpin, a 34-year-old Black man who is deaf and has cerebral palsy.
The incident, captured on body camera footage, occurred on August 19 while officers were responding to a disturbance call at a Circle K store in Phoenix, Arizona.
The video shows McAlpin walking near the store when the officers blocked his path with their vehicle. Without asking for identification or attempting to communicate with him, the officers proceeded to tackle McAlpin, using physical force that included repeated punches and the deployment of a Taser four times. McAlpin, who was unable to hear the officers due to his deafness, reportedly struggled to defend himself because of his cerebral palsy.
Following the altercation, McAlpin was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and one count of resisting arrest with force. His attorney, Jesse Showalter, criticized the officers’ actions. “The answer is easy. He’s deaf. He couldn’t understand what they were doing. And he had done nothing wrong.”
A man who is deaf and has cerebral palsy is facing felony charges after he was repeatedly punched and tasered by Phoenix officers. pic.twitter.com/Zpe32bwTVl
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) October 11, 2024
The police were initially called to the store after Derek Stevens, a 33-year-old white man, had been accused of causing a disturbance. Surveillance footage from the store indicates that Stevens was the initial source of the issue, claiming that his phone had been stolen and refusing to leave when asked. McAlpin was reportedly trying to assist in removing Stevens from the store while communicating via sign language with his girlfriend on his phone.
Despite Stevens’ involvement, he has not faced any charges, according to Maricopa County court records. During the arrest, McAlpin’s girlfriend, who was on a video call, expressed her frustration with the officers: “You guys arrested him for no reason.”
McAlpin’s family are reportedly planning to sue the Phoenix Police Department as they emphasize he was merely attempting to protect himself: “Everything I see in that video is Tyron just trying to avoid being harmed by these officers, and that only makes them increase the escalation and the violence that they’re using,” one relative told reporters.
