Deaf Man Charged with Assault After Police Officers Tase Him
Tyron McAlpin, a 34-year-old deaf man with cerebral palsy, faces felony charges of assault and resisting arrest after being punched and tased by two Phoenix police officers. The incident occurred on August 19 and was captured on both surveillance video and police body-worn camera footage.
The officers, Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue, responded to a call about a physical altercation at a convenience store. They identified McAlpin as the suspect based on a description provided by a bystander, who had initially described a white man as the aggressor.
The video shows Harris jumping out of his vehicle and punching McAlpin multiple times, while Sue also punched him and deployed a Taser. McAlpin’s attorney, Jesse Showalter, claims that his client did not comply with the officers’ commands because he is deaf and could not hear them.
McAlpin spent 24 days in jail before making bond and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Arizona NAACP has called for the officers to be placed on administrative leave and for the charges against McAlpin to be dropped. The organization also demands a thorough review and reform of police procedures for interactions with individuals with disabilities.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has promised to personally review the case, acknowledging that it “deserves further examination”. The Phoenix Police Department is investigating the officers’ actions, and the incident has sparked widespread outrage and calls for federal oversight due to the Department of Justice’s previous findings of systemic problems within the department, including racial discrimination and excessive use of force.
