Two Phoenix police officers were put on paid leave while the violent arrest of a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy was being looked into. The arrest caused a huge uproar of anger and criticism.
Tuesday, the Phoenix Police Department revealed that officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue are on administrative leave while the department does a formal investigation into the arrest of Tyron McAlpin, 34, in August.
Graphic body camera video of the incident shows that the two officers beat McAlpin up and shocked him several times with a Taser when he didn’t do what they said. McAlpine was charged with two counts of aggravated attack on a police officer and resisting arrest, but last week, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell dropped those charges.
A video of the arrest that was shown at a court meeting was closely looked at by many local and state officials as well as human rights activists.
The violent arrest is still being looked into by the police force itself. Michael Sullivan, the department’s acting head, said he would personally look over the results of that investigation.
A body camera records the rough arrest.
Records and video from the officers’ body cameras show that they were called to a trespassing call by workers of a Circle K store and gas station.
The white guy who was trespassing told the police that he had just been beaten up and pointed to McAlpin across the street when they arrived. McAlpin’s lawyer said that these claims were not true. McAlpin wasn’t charged with anything connected to that assault claim.
The police pulled up next to McAlpin without talking to any other witnesses or questioning the man more first. In the video, McAlpin is seen crossing the Dollar Store parking lot. Sue pulls up next to him and tells him, “Hey buddy, stop where you are.”
After McAlpin didn’t answer for a moment, the officer reached out and grabbed him. This started a fight, and Sue grabbed McAlpin’s arm. McAlpin looked like he pushed back and raised his arms. The police beat McAlpin up, hit him more than a dozen times, and shocked him several times with a Taser while telling him to put his hands behind his back. The police finally put handcuffs on McAlpin.
A video causes a stir against a police force that is already under fire.
When body camera footage of the arrest was shown in court on Oct. 1, state and local leaders, such as Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and Vice Mayor Debra Stark, voiced concern.
Later, Stark said in a statement that she understood why the county attorney dropped the charges against McAlpin, but she would wait for the results of the city’s investigation before deciding if the city and police force needed to apologize to McAlpin.
In a joint statement, Arizona state Sen. Anna Hernandez and state Rep. Analise Ortiz said the arrest was “a sign of the larger systemic problems within the Phoenix Police Department.”
“Tyron is deaf and has cerebral palsy and should never have been subjected to this brutal assault at the hands of police officers,” it said.
Source: Phoenix officers on leave after violent arrest of deaf man
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