All charges faced by a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy who was caught on camera being punched and Tasered by Phoenix police officers will be dropped.
The Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell vowed to review bodycam footage released this week showing two Phoenix police officers tackling 34-year-old Tyron McAlpin on August 19. On Thursday evening, Mitchell announced she would dismiss all remaining charges against McAlpin.
Surveillance footage captures the officers approaching McAlpin in a parking lot. One officer leaps out of the car, lunges at McAlpin and grabs him. A brawl ensues, ending with one officer dragging McAlpin to the ground before they repeatedly punch and then Taser him.
The officers arrested McAlpin, who was charged with resisting arrest and aggravated assault. Nearly two months after the August incident, those charges have been dropped.
“Last Friday, a leader of the local chapter of the NAACP shared his concern with me regarding the prosecution of Mr Tyron McAlpin,” Mitchell said in a Thursday statement.