A deaf Black man with cerebral palsy was allegedly beaten and tased by Phoenix police officers this summer, in a violent incident that has gained national attention following the release of police body camera footage.
In the recently publicized bodycam footage, Tyron McAlpin, 34, can be seen walking through a parking lot in Phoenix, on Aug. 19, when he is approached by two officers in separate police vehicles. The footage was provided to NPR by the McAlpin’s attorney.
Within seconds of first addressing McAlpin, who is deaf, officer Benjamin Harris jumps out of his vehicle and begins punching McAlpin, followed closely behind by officer Kyle Sue, who presses McAlpin into the ground and repeatedly punches him as well, the footage shows.
The incident began shortly before at a neighboring Circle K convenience store where employees called to complain about a white man, identified in the police report as Derek Stevens. The caller said Stevens had been the aggressor in an altercation, and was still loitering on the property.
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Upon arrival at the scene, according to the bodycam footage, Harris and Sue briefly speak to Stevens, who then claims that he was instead the victim of an assault at the hands of McAlpin. Stevens claimed McAlpin had punched him and stolen his phone.
The man points out McAlpin, who is across the street. Without questioning any witnesses on the scene about Stevens’ claim, the two officers quickly get in their cars to pursue McAlpin.
Harris — who later in the footage complains that he thinks he has broken his hand punching McAlpin — tases McAlpin at least four times as the disabled man writhes on the ground and moans, the bodycam footage shows.
Several minutes after the violent confrontation first began and while McAlpin was restrained on the ground in handcuffs, a woman identifying herself as McAlpin’s wife arrived and explained to officers that McAlpin is deaf and has cerebral palsy.
