PHOENIX, AZ — 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.
The violent and rapid arrest of Tyron McAlpin raises serious questions and could serve as a test case for Phoenix and the Department of Justice as the two battle over whether the police department in America’s fifth-largest city needs federal oversight.
Acting on false claims from a white man under investigation, body camera video 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.
“It’s hard for me to see how the city can come out and say with [a] straight face that it is meeting the DOJ report head-on when this man is being charged with assault on police officers for this incident,” said Jesse Showalter, one of McAlpin's attorneys.
Phoenix police officials did not answer specific questions about the arrest but confirmed it is under internal investigation.
A spokesperson emailed the following statement:
“This incident is the subject of an ongoing investigation and was assigned to the Professional Standards Bureau on August 30, 2024.”
But, Phoenix police and Maricopa County prosecutors continue to pursue a criminal case against McAlpin. During a recent preliminary hearing, Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Nick Saccone found there was probable cause for his August 19, 2024, arrest.
McAlpin was arrested by Officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue.
In their police reports and court testimony, the two officers stated McAlpin was going to run, took a fighting stance, threw repeated punches, and wouldn’t comply with commands.
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 said. “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.”
The arrest happened two months after the Department of Justice released a historic and severe report, outlining a long list of systemic failures within Phoenix police.
VIDEO GUIDE: ABC15 breaks down the Department of Justice's report into Phoenix PD
Among the problems cited by the DOJ, the following issues are also raised in McAlpin's arrest: Racial bias, excessive force, dangerous use of Tasers and chokeholds, and violating the rights of people with disabilities.
The violent 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.
Officers Harris and 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.
Both Harris and Sue were called to testify during a preliminary hearing on October 1, 2024.
[Courtroom video of the preliminary hearing is embedded at the end of this report.]
Harris testified that he immediately went hands-on with McAlpin within a second because he believed he was going to run and was going to fight.
“He raised [his hands] in a manner that he was going to strike me,” Harris said during cross-examination. “What that communicated to me is that I was about to get assaulted, not that someone was giving up.”
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Harris also testified he didn’t know if it was possible that McAlpin raised his hands to protect himself from Harris' sudden punches. In response to a question from the prosecution, Harris said everything could have been avoided if McAlpin just indicated he was deaf.
“I would have had him sit down, made motions with my hand to have him sit down, and then I would have gotten a pen,” Harris testified.
As for Officer Sue, he also testified he saw McAlpin throw punches and claimed that he was bitten on the wrist during the arrest.
Officers Sue’s body camera fell off at the beginning of the arrest and only shows the ground. When asked to pinpoint the moment on Officer Harris’ body camera footage when the bite occurred, Sue stopped when the camera was pointed upward and McAlpin was not in frame.
Defense attorneys asked Sue if it was possible he scraped his wrist on the ground or McAlpin's open mouth as they punched, choked, and tasered him.
But Sue said no and denied using a chokehold on McAlpin.
In a bizarre moment to refute the defense’s claim about the cause of the scrape on Sue’s wrist, the prosecution asked him to stick his hand in his mouth and rub it on his teeth.
When Commissioner Saccone ruled he had found probable cause for the felony charges to move forward, he did not give an explanation.
Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) President Darrell Kriplean issued the following statement regarding the incident:
"We are aware of an incident that occurred on August 19, 2024, where an individual resisted arrest after immediately becoming combative with our officers who wanted to question him about his involvement in a previous assault on a community member.
“While some in the media are making this incident about race and discrimination, it is really about 2 police officers in full Phoenix Police uniform driving fully marked police cars coming under immediate attack by someone who was alleged to have committed a crime. Our officers have the right to defend themselves against attack by utilizing reasonable and necessary force based on the circumstances presented at the time.
“After reviewing all evidence presented, Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Nick Saccone determined there was sufficient evidence for the felony charges against the suspect due to his actions against the officers. We stand behind our officers and would caution the community on making judgments about the incident until all evidence is reviewed rather than a snippet of body cam footage.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego also provided the following statement when asked for her reaction to the body camera video and this incident:
“I have watched the body-camera footage from a police interaction with Tyron McAlpin. I share the deep concern we’ve heard from some in our community, and this incident warrants a full and thorough investigation. Both the Professional Standards Bureau and the Force Evaluation Review Unit have opened investigations, and I expect them to offer complete analysis, thorough conclusions, and recommendations.
“Beyond these bodies of review, the City Council and I remain committed to fostering community trust, and we continue our work to further accountability and transparency within our Department. Just a few weeks ago, the Council unanimously approved key police reform recommendations to better document police activity and enhance data collection, as well as improve the department’s internal investigations and evaluative processes. That work is ongoing and important, and as the investigative process for this incident takes place, we will not lose sight of our improvement efforts.”
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.