The top prosecutor in Arizona’s Maricopa County announced Thursday that charges against Tyron McAlpin — a Black man who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, and who was seen on video being violently arrested — are being dropped.
The announcement comes after police body camera video of McAlpin’s arrest, which showed two Phoenix police officers repeatedly punching and tasing McAlpin, became public and sparked outcry.
“I have now completed my review and have made the decision to dismiss all remaining charges against Mr. McAlpin,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said Thursday.
McAlpin had been facing three felony charges for allegedly assaulting the two arresting officers and resisting arrest.
Phoenix police officers had been called because a White man was loitering at a convenience store on Aug. 19. That man claimed he had been assaulted and that his phone had been stolen, and he pointed to McAlpin as the culprit. McAlpin was not charged for the incident involving that man and his lawyer says he was wrongfully accused.