Phoenix police officers punch, taser deaf Black man with cerebral palsy under false claims

Update October 19: All charges have been dismissed against Tyron McAlpin.

Original story

Tyron McAlpin, a Black man, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, is facing felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest charges after he was repeatedly punched and tasered by a pair of Phoenix police officers.

Tyron McAlpin Phoenix deaf Black man police incident

Acting on false claims from a white man under investigation, body camera video recently released to the public shows officers unexpectedly go after McAlpin, punch him in the head at least 10 times, Taser him four times, and wrap their arms around his neck.

Internal investigation

Despite the incident August 19 being the subject of an internal investigation, Phoenix police and Maricopa County prosecutors continue to pursue a criminal case against McAlpin.

Body camera video of Tyron McAlpin police incident

According to ABC15, Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Nick Saccone found there was probable cause for his Aug. 19, 2024, arrest, stating McAlpin fought officers and didn’t comply.

Video of the incident shows officers immediately getting out of their vehicle and attacking McAlpin as he was walking.

McAlpin allegedly attempted to defend himself and fight back against the officers as he was being attacked. As a result, he was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest, according to ABC15 Arizona.

According to the police report, McAlpin was arrested by Officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue.

Claims are false says attorneys

McAlpin’s attorneys said body camera video and surveillance footage show the officers’ claims are false and said there’s an obvious explanation for why he couldn’t comply.

“The answer is easy. He’s deaf. He couldn’t understand what they were doing. And he had done nothing wrong,” Showalter told ABC15 Arizona.

“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.”

Tyron McAlpin’s arrest

The arrest stems from a morning call from Circle K convenience store employees who reported that a white man was causing problems and wouldn’t leave the store, records show.

While being trespassed, the man claimed he was assaulted by a Black man and pointed across the street at McAlpin.

Officers Harris and Sue never confirmed the validity of the man’s claims and left him to go after McAlpin.

ABC15 Arizona reports the man’s assault claim was later refuted by store employees and surveillance video, records show.

After reportedly handcuffing McAlpin, his wife arrived at the arrest and told the officers that he was deaf and had cerebral palsy, according to body camera footage. None of the officers at the scene included any information about McAplin’s disabilities.

McAlpin’s initial pretrial conference is scheduled for November 13, and his trial is scheduled for late February.