Body Cam Footage Reveals Phoenix Officers Punching, Tasering Deaf Black Man with Cerebral Palsy
The officers, who are under investigation, "remain in their assigned duties" the Phoenix Police Department tells PEOPLE
Phoenix police officers responded to a report that Tyron McAlpin, a Black man, had stolen a phone from a White man. That theft charge was later dropped
Within seconds of arrival, an officer grabbed McAlpin, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, and the men scuffled. Later, officers repeatedly tased and beat McAlpin in the head
The Department of Justice announced in June that the Phoenix Police Department and the City of Phoenix routinely engage "in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law"
A deaf Black man with cerebral palsy faces charges after an incident in which two White officers repeatedly punched and tased him in a Circle K parking lot in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Aug. 19 incident comes on the heels of a Department of Justice report in which federal authorities found that the Phoenix Police Department habitually uses excessive force and discriminates against People of Color.
Tyron McAlpin was walking and looking at his phone when two officers – responding to a report regarding a stolen cell phone – pulled up in a vehicle beside him.
"Hey buddy, stop where you're at," an officer – who later identifies himself as Benjamin Harris in his body camera footage obtained by PEOPLE – says while still in the vehicle.
McAlpin then tries to walk around the vehicle. Within about two seconds of getting out, Harris grabs McAlpin by the shoulders, per the bodycam footage.
Responding, McAlpin raises his arms, and a scuffle ensues. Twelve seconds into the footage, Harris punches McAlpin, who stoops downward.
"Tase him! Tase him! Tase him!" Harris says before the officers push him to the ground, continuing, "Get your hands behind your back!" while McAlpin strains to keep his face from hitting concrete.
An officer – identified in incident reports obtained by PEOPLE as Kyle Sue – holds McAlpin's neck, punching his head multiple times.
McAlpin holds his own head as Harris orders him to put his hands behind his back.
As Sue beats him, Harris tells him to "move" and tasers McAlpin – who is on the ground – four times. Harris searches his pockets – as McAlpin groans – dumping out his earbuds, keys and loose change.
"Hey officers, you okay?" a passerby asks, prompting Harris to respond, "We're good now, thanks," while rummaging through McAlpin's pockets.
The officers try to stand him up, but McAlpin – still moaning – cannot stand.
At one point in the footage, Harris says he thinks he broke his own hand. Sue claims McAlpin bit him.
"He's not being combative, he just doesn't want to go into cuffs," Harris says into his radio.
A White woman, identifying herself as McAlpin's wife, yells from a distance to tell the officers that she had been communicating with him by phone since before they arrived. She further notes to them that McAlpin is deaf and has cerebral palsy.
Harris tells her that McAlpin is "under arrest for assault on a police officer," prompting the woman to inquire "What happened?"
"He assaulted someone at the Circle K," Harris says, prompting the woman to retort, "He didn't assault nobody."
"Well, he did now," Harris and another officer both respond.
McAlpin is charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault and one count of felony resisting arrest, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office confirms to PEOPLE.
McAlpin's initial pretrial conference is scheduled for Nov. 13.
In a statement to PEOPLE, the Phoenix Police Department said that the officers – who are under an internal investigation – "remain in their assigned duties."
Interim Police Chief Michael G. Sullivan called the video "disturbing," adding in a statement that it "raises a lot of questions."
County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement this week: "Because of the attention on this case, I will personally review the entire file, as well as the totality of the video. I may reach a different conclusion, or I may not, but I believe this case merits additional scrutiny."
According to the probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, the officers responded to the Circle K location after a White male alleged – in an incident not witnessed by employees – that McAlpin had punched him in the face and taken his phone.
The attorney's office told CNN on Tuesday, Oct. 15, that they had dropped that earlier theft charge.
Robbins Curtin Millea & Showalter, LLC, which represents McAlpin, said his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated and that the cell phone he was initially accused of stealing was his own.
"It has been almost sixty days since Tyron was attacked," his lawyers said in a statement, saying they worried the city had promised to investigate in "an attempt to avoid confronting" what had happened.
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