The top prosecutor in Maricopa County, Arizona, announced Thursday that accusations against Tyron McAlpin – a deaf black man with cerebral palsy who was seen on video being violently arrested – are abandoned.
The announcement comes after video of McAlpin’s arrest, captured on police body camera footage, showing two Phoenix police officers punching and stomping McAlpin multiple times, 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 Prosecutor Rachel Mitchell said Thursday.
McAlpin was facing three criminal charges for allegedly assaulting the two officers who arrested him and resisting arrest.
Phoenix police were called because a white man was loitering in a convenience store on August 19. This man claimed he had been assaulted and had his phone stolen, and he named McAlpin as the culprit. McAlpin has not been charged in connection with the incident involving the man and his lawyer says he was wrongly accused.
In the arrest video, Officer Benjamin Harris was seen jumping from his vehicle and striking McAlpin as Officer Kyle Sue rushed. McAlpin was punched at least 10 times and was also subpoenaed several times. Sue can be heard on the video claiming that McAlpin bit him, and in the police report on the incident, Harris claimed that McAlpin threw a punch at him.
“Tyron is just trying to avoid getting hurt by an aggressive, out-of-control police officer,” McAlpin’s attorney, Jesse Showalter, told CBS News. “He doesn’t hear any of the orders given to him and the assault never stops and the officers never do anything to deescalate the situation.”
The arrest video sparked strong reactions from the NAACP and ACLU, prompting Mitchell to announce that she would “personally review the entire case, as well as the entire video.”
She also noted Thursday that she had “convened a large gathering of senior attorneys and community members to hear their opinions on this matter” earlier in the week.
McAlpin’s arrest came two months after a scathing report from the Department of Justice found that Phoenix police engaged in a pattern of discrimination and excessive force.
Kris Van Cleave contributed to this report.
