Video of Phoenix police using a Taser and punching deaf man with cerebral palsy under scrutiny
The arrest of a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy, who was repeatedly punched and Tased by a pair of Phoenix police officers in August and later charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest, has come under new scrutiny.
The arrest of a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy, who was repeatedly punched and Tased by a pair of Phoenix police officers in August and later charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest, has come under new scrutiny.
Tyron McAlpin was arrested by officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue on Aug. 19. But his arrest has only recently drawn national attention after one of his attorneys, Jesse Showalter, released police body camera video and surveillance footage from his arrest.
Some have seized on the officers’ actions as further proof that the Phoenix Police Department, which the Justice Department has said discriminates against minorities and uses excessive force, needs federal oversight. There is no indication that the officers knew McAlpin was deaf or had cerebral palsy before his arrest.
Amid mounting public outcry, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement Monday that the case “merits additional scrutiny.” Phoenix is the seat of Maricopa County.
Mitchell said that she has “great faith in the attorneys” who work at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and those who have reviewed the case so far, but plans to look at the case herself.
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