PHOENIX — All charges have been dismissed against a Black man who is deaf and disabled and was seen on video being Tasered and punched by Phoenix police officers.
The ABC15 Investigators first reported on the violent arrest of Tyron McAlpin on October 10. The case has garnered national and international attention.
On Thursday evening, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced the charges were dismissed saying:
“Last Friday, a leader of the local chapter of the NAACP shared his concern with me regarding the prosecution of Mr. Tyron McAlpin. 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.
On Tuesday of this week, I also convened a large gathering of senior attorneys and members of the community to hear their opinions as they pertain to this case.
I have now completed my review and have made the decision to dismiss all remaining charges against Mr. McAlpin.”
McAlpin, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, was facing felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest charges after he was repeatedly punched and tasered by a pair of Phoenix police officers.
The arrest stems from a morning call from Circle K 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.
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Phoenix officers Ben Harris and Kyle Sue took the man’s claims at face value and left him to go after McAlpin. (The man’s assault claim was later refuted by store employees and surveillance video, records show.)
After handcuffing McAlpin, his girlfriend 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 in their reports.
Following the ABC15 Investigators report, local lawmakers and advocacy groups called for the charges to be dropped. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego spoke out about the incident a week later.
Among the calls for dismissal were Sen. Anna Hernandez and Rep. Analise Ortiz, both Democrats.
The pair of legislators, who represent parts of Phoenix, issued a statement criticizing police and prosecutors for their actions.
"Tyron McAlpin was violently arrested by Phoenix Police after being falsely accused. Tyron is deaf and has cerebral palsy and should never have been subjected to this brutal assault at the hands of police officers. To make matters worse, Tyron, who did absolutely nothing wrong, is being charged with resisting arrest. This incident is indicative of the larger systemic problems within the Phoenix Police Department that were corroborated during the Department of Justice’s investigation into the illegal use of excessive force by some officers within the police department. Tyron deserves justice and the charges against him must be dropped. Further, the City of Phoenix should take immediate action to hold the police officers accountable, renew trainings related to interacting with the disabled community, and work with the community to bring about meaningful reforms to reduce excessive force and racial profiling."
Before the charges were officially dropped, Mitchell’s opponent in the race for county attorney also criticized her for not dismissing the charges sooner.
“I think this is a classic case of injustice,” Tamika Wooten said in an interview. “And Rachel Mitchell has the capacity to make it stop; and so far, she has chosen not to do that."
When asked if the officers should be criminally investigated, Wooten agreed.
“Hopefully (Mitchell) will do that too. Maybe she’s just slow-rolling everything. I don’t know what her thought process is right now. But obviously, it’s not doing justice. She hasn’t come out and said anything about it. It only takes about a minute to take a look at that video and see what’s going on,” Wooten said.
Through a spokesperson, Mitchell declined to respond to Wooten’s statements.
The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) released the following statement Friday:
“We are appalled at the decision by Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to dismiss the charges against Mr. McAlpin. The two Phoenix Police Officers involved in the incident were investigating a crime where the alleged victim had a visible injury from being robbed and assaulted. While gathering the information, the victim pointed the alleged suspect who was walking alone 40-50 yards away. After confirming he desired prosecution, they went to contact the suspect.
“The alleged suspect, Mr. McAlpin, attempted to avoid the officers and was ignoring their directions to stop. Our officer exited his marked patrol car in ful Phoenix Police uniform and attempted to grab the individual's arm to lawfully detain him and our officer was immediately assaulted. At no time did Mr. McAlpin convey to them that he was hearing impaired or suffered from cerebral palsy. Our officers defended themselves against the attack of Mr. McAlpin.
“It is unfortunate that a narrative was created accusing these officers of targeting Mr. McAlpin due to his race and disabilities. This is completely false and an inaccurate portrayal of what occurred in real time as the officers encountered Mr. McAlpin.
“What has transpired over the past week is an ugly smear campaign against Phoenix Police. The Phoenix Police Department provides training on how to interact with community members, victims and suspects, who are hearing impaired and/or disabled, however, we are also trained on how to defend ourselves iffaced with a violent individual intent on hurting us.
“We stand behind our officers and thank the men and women of the Phoenix Police Department for their service to our community.”
