Man suffers third-degree burns while held on hot sidewalk by Phoenix police

WARNING: This report contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.

As phoenix police deal with the fallout from the violent assault on a deaf man And facing the threat of federal surveillancethe department is now facing a lawsuit after a man suffered third-degree burns over much of his body during a detention.

Michael Kenyon, who has not been charged with a crime over the incident, spent more than a month in the hospital with burns to his face, arms, chest and legs.

There are now some missing pieces of flesh above his knees.

Michael Kenyon

“Time and time again, the Phoenix Police Department has shown a total disregard for human life,” said Bobby DiCello, one of Kenyon’s attorneys. “This young man was burned to the third degree because his skin was cooked on asphalt.”

When asked again if he believed officers were “cooking” Kenyon, DiCello said, “There’s no doubt about it.”

Michael Kenyon

Phoenix police said Kenyon struggled with their officers and added that the incident remains the subject of a criminal and internal investigation.

The incident occurred on the afternoon of July 6, 2024, when temperatures reached 114ºC in downtown Phoenix.

Watch surveillance video of the incident in the player below.

Surveillance footage shows Michael Kenyon suffering third-degree burns on hot pavement

Surveillance video shows Kenyon was stopped by officers and questioned in a parking lot near 7th Street and McKinley Street. After both sides began to pull against each other, a handful of officers took Kenyon to the tarmac and held him there for more than four minutes.

A witness from a nearby balcony began recording in the middle of the incident.

The cell phone video shows Kenyon shouting, “Please… please… I can’t move. I didn’t do anything.”

Watch the cell phone video provided to ABC15 in the player below.

Man suffers third-degree burns while held on hot pavement

“The lady across the street in the high-rise said she thought an animal was dying. That’s why she looked out her window,” Kenyon said during an interview. “And then she started recording me.”

Kenyon and his attorneys provided ABC15 with the surveillance and cellphone videos, but they have not been able to obtain a copy of the incident report from Phoenix police.

Through a public records request, ABC15 also requested the incident report and any body camera footage to learn what happened during the incident.

At the time of reporting, these requests have not yet been processed.

In an interview with ABC15, Kenyon said he believes officers stopped him because his roommate had recently reported a theft from their home across the street. Police later determined that Kenyon was not the suspect in the theft.

Below is Kenyon’s account of the first interaction.

“So I walked up to them with my phone in my hand and said, ‘Hey, what happened?’ or ‘What’s going on?’… One officer grabbed one wrist and the other officer grabbed my other wrist… They said to me in a viciously hostile manner, “You’re being held.” But I said, ‘I’m on the phone. What do you mean? I didn’t do anything. Please explain it to me.’ And they said, ‘Why are you worried? Why do you seem nervous?’ I said, ‘That’s not me. You scare me. Can you please explain it to me? Let me sit down. Let me sit down.’ I sat on the back of a random person’s tailgate.

Kenyon also described his version of what happened when he was taken to the ground.

“They said, ‘Give me your arms. Stop resisting.’ And I think that was when five people came towards me… And I just screamed for help. And I’m scared. And I think this is literally (how) George Floyd was literally like… And that’s when I think, this is it, this is me, this is where I think I’m going to stay… This is the end. ”

Kenyon said he thought of George Floyd as officers knelt on his head, neck and back.

Video appears to show an officer kneeling on his head or neck during the incident.

Kenyon said the pain was unbearable.

“It’s like going through hell and hades… It feels like your skin is melting away,” he said.

“Deep inside I think to myself: I’ve had a bad past, I don’t deserve many good things in my life. So I think maybe I deserved this, you know,” he said.

Kenyon added that he wouldn’t wish the pain on his worst enemy.

“No, no, I wouldn’t do that,” he said.

At the time of the incident, Kenyon had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on drug charges, court records show. He claims he was not aware of the order, and police confirmed that the officers were not aware of it at the time either.

Medical records show Kenyon spent several weeks in the burn unit at Valleywise Medical Center and then more time at a rehabilitation center.

He and his attorneys told ABC15 that officers were stationed at the hospital for several days, possibly a week, and often kept him handcuffed.

“They were just outside the room,” Kenyon said. “They had a little clicker thing with the blinds (that they could see through).”

He added: “They wouldn’t let me use my phone or contact my family… It took certain officers breaking the rules to let me use my phone.”

Kenyon said the officers eventually left after a friend called some lawyers and they showed up at the hospital.

“He didn’t commit a crime, he was never charged with a crime,” DiCello said. “And he spent more than a month in a burn unit with police peeking through the windows to see what he was doing.”

Kenyon is now represented by a team of local and national law firms.

The attorneys, including DiCello and Steve Benedetto, also represent dozens protesters who were falsely charged by Phoenix police – some as members of a fake gang invented by officers and prosecutors.

Those attorneys said Kenyon’s case continues to prove Phoenix’s inability to control itself, especially since the incident occurred. after the Justice Department released its findings in the city.

The revelation of Kenyon’s incident also comes weeks after Phoenix police encountered it response to the violent arrest of Tyron McAlpin.

The Phoenix Police Department released the following statement to the media regarding this incident:

“On July 6, 2024, Phoenix Police officers responded to the area of ​​7th Street and McKinley Street in reference to a robbery in progress. While responding, officers observed an adult male, later identified as Michael Kenyon, who matched the suspect description provided for the suspect of the theft.

Officers contacted Kenyon and told him he was being held so they could understand what may have happened. The man was confronted by the police, forcing him to the ground on the hot asphalt. The man suffered burns to various parts of his body from the moment he lay on the ground.

Kenyon was determined not to be the suspect in the theft. He was taken to the hospital and officers learned that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. This incident is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. An investigation is also being conducted by the Professional Standards Bureau, which commenced on July 9, 2024.”

UPDATE: After ABC15 contacted Phoenix police for comment on the burn case, the Maricopa County Prosecutor’s Office filed criminal charges against Michael Kenyon for a separate incident.

An immediate complaint was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court on October 28 at 3:17 p.m

ABC15 reached out to Phoenix police for comment on Kenyon’s burn case hours earlier, at 6 a.m. the same day.

“We are still investigating this allegation,” said Stephen Benedetto, one of Kenyon’s attorneys. “The timing of the charges is certainly suspicious, especially given the history of the Phoenix Police Department. But we will wait to judge until we have completed our own investigation.”

The new charges are related to an alleged domestic violence incident from March involving Kenyon and his brother.

The direct complaint, which did not provide specific details of the incident, included charges of aggravated assault, battery and disorderly conduct.

In an email to ABC15, the Maricopa County Prosecutor’s Office responded to the timing of the new charges.

“The incident in this case came to the attention of MCAO in March 2024. More specifically, the filing was processed on March 21, 2024. The prosecutor currently assigned to the case received it on October 2, 2024. There was no conversation between MCAO and PPD regarding this matter yesterday,” a spokesperson said.

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Contact ABC15 lead investigator Dave Biscobing at [email protected].