A deaf Black man in Phoenix, Arizona is facing charges of assault against a police officer after he was attacked by police for failing to comply with commands he couldn’t hear.
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According to AZ Central, 34-year-old Tyron McAlpin was arrested on Aug. 19 by officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue, who were called to a Circle K near 12th Street and Indian School Road by employees who wanted Harris removed from the premises. Body camera footage shows that Sue and Harris spoke to an employee outside of the store who claimed McAlphin assaulted him.
“Are you alleging he assaulted you and you want him to go to jail?” Sue can be heard asking.
And that’s where it all went downhill.
From AZCentral:
On police body camera video, McAlpin can be seen walking across the Dollar Store parking lot when Sue drives up to him and says, “Hey buddy stop where you’re at.”
But McAlpin, who is deaf, according to court records, keeps walking.
Harris then pulls up next to him and, in less than a second, reaches out while saying, “have a seat.” Body camera footage shows a struggle as Sue grabs McAlpin’s arm while McAlpin pushes and swings his arms back at Harris. Harris then punches McAlpin. The footage reveals that this struggle lasts about 6 seconds before McAlpin folds over, at which point Sue grabs him, and Harris arrives to assist in bringing McAlpin to the ground.
Harris tells Sue to Tase McAlpin. The body camera video captures both officers bringing McAlpin down to the ground.
At one point in the video, Harris brings his arm around McAlpin’s face. The footage shows his closed hand moving toward McAlpin’s mouth, which is already open, and it appears to pass near his teeth.
McAlpine is charged with biting Harris.
The video footage shows Sue striking the back of McAlpin’s head while his partner continues to bark orders at McAlphin that he can’t hear. Harris shouts more forcefully at McAlpin as if the volume of his voice would make a difference, and when it doesn’t, he begins to punch McAlpin with closed fists. Harris then pulls out a taser and shoots McAlpin while he’s still being beaten by Sue.
McAlpin was charged with aggravated assault against an officer, and a probable cause hearing was held on Oct. 1, during which Harris testified that if McAlpin had indicated he was deaf, the incident could have been avoided.
Apparently, we’re all supposed to ignore the glaring fact that the incident also could have been avoided if cops weren’t so quick to resort to violence the second their commands get ignored, especially when dealing with Black citizens. If the officers weren’t so eager to start striking and tasing McAlpin because their little blue egos got bruised by a seemingly non-compliant suspect, it might have occurred to them that McAlphin failed to respond because he couldn’t hear them. I mean, deaf people and people who are hearing impaired are everywhere, and cops are a danger to them if they’re going to react violently to not being heard.
Of course, unsurprisingly, the court didn’t see it that way. Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Nick Saccone determined that, based on the body camera footage and the testimony of Sue and Harris, there was sufficient evidence for the felony charges against McAlpin to move forward.
It’s unclear if there is any investigation underway to determine if the officers involved in the stop used excessive force, but we probably shouldn’t hold our breath.