Arizona officers who beat deaf Black man with cerebral palsy are suspended

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March 26, 2025

By Maya Yang, The Guardian

The headquarters of the Phoenix police department. (Photograph: JHVEPhoto/Alamy)

The Phoenix police department has disciplined three officers who violently used a stun gun on and punched a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy last year.

The department’s interim police chief, Michael Sullivan, announced that he had issued 24-hour unpaid suspensions to the officers who were involved in the arrest of Tyron McAlpin last August, which was filmed on video. Two of the officers will also be required to attend de-escalation training, Sullivan said.

Sullivan did not name the three police officers, but in the video of McAlpin’s arrest the two officers who were seen assaulting him were identified in media reports as Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue. The third officer has been identified in media reports as Jorge Acosta.

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