Footage Reveals US Police Assault on Deaf Black Man with Cerebral Palsy in Phoenix

The man, Tyron McAlpin, 34, now faces felony charges while the real suspect remains uncharged.

Body camera footage has surfaced showing Phoenix police officers violently apprehending Tyron McAlpin, a 34-year-old deaf black man with cerebral palsy, after mistaking him for a suspect in a disturbance at a convenience store.

McAlpin was leaving a Circle K convenience store on August 19 when two Phoenix Police officers arrived, responding to reports of a white man causing a disturbance. Instead of asking for McAlpin's identification, the officers immediately wrestled him to the ground.

Footage, obtained by AZFamily, shows officers Ben Harris and Kyle Sue repeatedly punching McAlpin—at least 10 times—before using a taser on him four times. McAlpin was unable to respond to officers’ commands due to his hearing impairment and struggled to defend himself because of his cerebral palsy.

Despite the officers’ initial mistake, McAlpin now faces charges of felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest, though the disturbance was reportedly caused by Derek Stevens, a 33-year-old white man. Surveillance footage confirmed Stevens had been the one causing the disturbance in the store, yet he falsely claimed to police that McAlpin had attacked him and stolen his phone, according to the Atlanta Black Star.

Further security footage showed McAlpin entering the store while using sign language to communicate with his girlfriend via his phone. Meanwhile, store clerks told police that Stevens had been creating the disturbance and that McAlpin had been assisting in removing him from the premises.

During the arrest, McAlpin's girlfriend could be heard on police bodycam footage expressing disbelief at his wrongful detention. "You guys arrested him for no reason," she said, explaining she had been on the phone with him at the time of the incident. When one officer questioned how they communicated if McAlpin was deaf, she responded, "We use sign language!"

McAlpin has no prior arrests in Maricopa County, while Stevens has a criminal record, including two felonies and a 2017 charge of endangerment.

Despite Stevens’ false report to police, he has not been charged, according to the Maricopa County court website. McAlpin’s attorney, Jesse Showalter, criticized the police handling of the situation. “The answer is easy. He's deaf,” Showalter told ABC15. “He couldn’t understand what they were doing, and he had done nothing wrong.”

McAlpin’s family is now planning to sue the Phoenix police department, citing excessive use of force and wrongful arrest.