Another day, another case of police brutally beating a Black man on video. But in this case, the Arizona officers responsible did not even arrest the man they were called to the scene for.
Over the weekend, body camera footage released to the public shows Phoenix police officers hitting and tasing Tyron McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy, multiple times while he was down outside of a convenience store in August, according to CBS 5 News.
Officers were originally called to Circle K because a white man was allegedly disturbing staff, but when they arrived at the scene and questioned the man, he claimed he was the victim and said that he was attacked by a McAlpin, who was across the street.
Video of the incident shows officers immediately getting out of their vehicle and attacking McAlpin as he was walking.
McAlpin allegedly attempted to defend himself and fight back against the officers as he was being attacked. As a result, he was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest, according to ABC15 Arizona.
Watch video of the entire incident below:
In a statement to ABC15 Arizona, Jesse Showalter, one of McAlpin’s attorneys said, “It’s hard for me to see how the city can come out and say with [a] straight face that it is meeting the DOJ report head-on when this man is being charged with assault on police officers for this incident.”
Showalter is referring to the U.S. Department of Justice’s June report, which found that the Phoenix Police Department (PhxPD) and the City of Phoenix “engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law.
It was discovered that the PhxPD often uses excessive force, unjustified deadly force, and regularly discriminates against Black, Hispanic, and Native American people when “enforcing the law.” It was also found that the PhxPD also discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities.