3 officers suspended for actions in Tyron McAlpin arrest

Three Phoenix Police officers were disciplined for their roles in the forceful arrest of a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy in 2024.

BY LANCE HARTZLER

Mar 25, 2025, 5:56 PM Updated: Mar 26, 2025, 9:19 am

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PHOENIX — Three Phoenix Police officers were disciplined for their roles in the forceful arrest of a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy in 2024, according to a Tuesday news release from the department.

The officers were issued 24-hour unpaid suspensions for choking, punching and using a Taser on Tyron McAlpin.

“We understand the concerns raised by this incident, and we take them seriously,” Interim Phoenix Police Chief Michael Sullivan said in the release. “The decision to suspend the officers reflects our commitment to accountability and maintaining public trust.”

Two of the officers will also be required to take de-escalation training.

“We will continue to support our officers with training and guidance to ensure they can perform their duties safely and effectively,” Sullivan said. “Our goal is to learn from this and move forward together as a stronger department and community.”

The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) released a statement Tuesday night indicating the organization’s disagreement with the suspensions.

“We are appalled by the determination made by Interim Chief Sullivan to suspend the three officers involved in the McAlpin case,” PLEA President Darrell Kriplean said in the release. “A situation that was previously reviewed internally by subject matter experts of the Force Evaluation and Review Unit and deemed to be within policy has suddenly been reversed due to public pressure, based on biased media reporting.”

What happened to Tyron McAlpin?

McAlpin, 34, was arrested on Aug. 19, 2024, after officers acted on false information from a white man when they used a Taser on McAlpin, choked him, and punched him multiple times in the head.

The charges against McAlpin were dropped in late October.

Body camera and surveillance camera footage appeared to show an officer starting the altercation as soon as he exited his patrol truck in a parking lot on Indian School Road near 12th Street.

One of the arresting officers said in court the situation could have been avoided if McAlpin indicated he was deaf, according to ABC15.

McAlpin’s attorney Jesse Showalter said that his client did not do anything that warranted the officer to come over to his client.

McAlpin was held in jail for 24 days before he was released with the help of the nonprofit organization “The Bail Project” and his attorney.