Phoenix police officers placed on leave after investigation into violent arrest of disabled black man

By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – Two Phoenix police officers, whose violent arrest of a deaf black man with cerebral palsy was widely condemned by human rights advocates, have been placed on administrative leave while a formal investigation continues into the incident, police said on Tuesday. fair.

Tyron McAlpin, 34, was tasered and punched by two Phoenix police officers named Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue, body camera footage of his arrest in August showed. McAlpin was charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest, charges that were dropped late last week.

“The officers remain on administrative leave,” a police spokesperson said in an email Tuesday.

Police officers had been on duty since last week.

Video of the August incident was broadcast by several media outlets last week after its release. NBC News reported that police body camera video and surveillance footage of the arrest were shared by one of McAlpin’s attorneys. It also said there was no indication the officers knew McAlpin was deaf or had cerebral palsy before his arrest.

CBS News and NBC News said police were called to a convenience store where a man claimed he was assaulted while trying to stop a robbery, while naming McAlpin as the culprit. CBS News said McAlpin did not face charges related to these allegations.

McAlpin’s lawyer said there was no wrongdoing on McAlpin’s part. McAlpin spent 24 days in jail before posting bond, according to CBS News.

The civil rights organization Arizona NAACP called for the officers to be placed on administrative leave until the full investigation is conducted.

The Phoenix Police Department has previously come under scrutiny, with the U.S. Department of Justice saying in June that it discriminated against minorities and used excessive force.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)