The arrest of Tyron McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy, by two Phoenix police officers in August has recently drawn national attention after body camera footage was released by his attorney, Jesse Showalter. McAlpin, who was punched and Tased during the arrest, was charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest. Amid public outcry, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has announced that she will personally review the case to determine if additional scrutiny is needed. The incident has raised concerns about the need for federal oversight of the Phoenix Police Department due to previous claims of discrimination and excessive force.
The arrest of McAlpin took place in response to an emergency call reporting a fight at a convenience store. An officer, Benjamin Harris, spoke with a man who claimed that McAlpin had assaulted him. Harris and his colleague, Kyle Sue, pursued McAlpin and attempted to arrest him in the parking lot of another store. Body camera footage shows one of the officers ordering McAlpin to put his hands behind his back and using a Taser, while the other officer punched him repeatedly. McAlpin’s attorney has denied claims that his client bit one of the officers, stating that their injuries were a result of their violent attack on McAlpin.
After McAlpin was handcuffed, his wife arrived on the scene and informed the officers that he was deaf and had cerebral palsy. She was prevented by the officers from speaking with McAlpin, who was lying on the ground. McAlpin was charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest, as well as theft, which was later dismissed. Showalter, McAlpin’s attorney, is working to have the charges dropped and has requested additional videos and documentation related to the incident from the police department. The Phoenix Police Department has confirmed that an internal investigation is ongoing.
The Arizona NAACP has called for the officers involved in McAlpin’s arrest to be placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation into their behavior. The organization has also demanded that the charges against McAlpin be dropped, and that the police release the full body camera footage and surveillance footage from the arrest. They have urged the police department to review and reform its protocols for interacting with individuals with disabilities. According to Andre Miller, the vice president of the Arizona State Conference NAACP, McAlpin was not a suspect in a crime, and there was a lack of effective communication during the encounter.
In June, the Justice Department released a report following a three-year investigation that found the Phoenix police department discriminates against Black, Hispanic, and Native American people, unlawfully detains homeless individuals, and uses excessive force. The report also highlighted that officers disproportionately target communities of color. The incident involving McAlpin has brought renewed attention to the issues of police discrimination and excessive force in Phoenix. The case has sparked calls for transparency, accountability, and reform within the police department to prevent similar incidents in the future.
