Man Beaten After Not Responding to Cops' Commands Is Deaf

A disturbing video shows two Phoenix police officers repeatedly punching and Tasering a man whom police say was resisting arrest. The Aug. 19 footage shows officers demanding the man put his hands behind his back. Tyron McAlpin did not—but his lawyer says he had a good reason for that. He's deaf, Jesse Showalter tells the Washington Post. "What we have is an innocent person who's attacked by police while he's walking home," he adds. Police had received a call about a white man acting aggressively at a convenience store, according to court documents. When officers questioned the male, he claimed he'd just been assaulted by McAlpin, who'd also stolen his cellphone, per the Post.

Officers left the white man and drove toward McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy, who was using sign language to communicate with his wife on a video call, says Showalter. Footage shows McAlpin side-step the police vehicle in a parking lot. Officer Benjamin Harris tells him to stop. Seconds later, Harris runs at McAlpin and starts beating him. He's soon joined by officer Kyle Sue and the pair bring McAlpin to the ground. The 34-year-old was repeatedly punched in the head and hit with a Taser. As he laid on the ground screaming, officers demanded he put his hands behind his back, but he couldn't hear them, Showalter says. Officers were informed of McAlpin's deafness immediately after the arrest, but it isn't mentioned in Harris or Sue's incident reports.

Harris' report claims McAlpin immediately began "swinging punches at my head," prompting the officer to deliver "as many closed-fist strikes as I could to Tyron's head area." In fact, the footage "shows the officer was the first to outstretch his arms toward McAlpin while McAlpin's arms remained by his side," per CNN. McAlpin spent the next 24 days in jail. He was initially charged with theft of the cellphone, though the charge was dropped once it became clear the phone was his, says Showalter. McAlpin still faces charges of resisting arrest and aggravated assault on a police officer. In addition to the other allegations, Harris and Sue claim McAlpin bit the hand of an officer. The officers remain on active duty. (The department has been found to discriminate against Black people and use excessive force.)