PHOENIX, AZ — A Black man, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy is facing felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest charges after he was repeatedly punched and tasered by a pair of Phoenix police officers.
The violent and rapid arrest of Tyron McAlpin raises serious questions and could serve as a test case for Phoenix and the Department of Justice as the two battle over whether the police department in America’s fifth-largest city needs federal oversight.
Acting on false claims from a white man under investigation, body camera video shows officers unexpectedly go after McAlpin, punch him in the head at least 10 times, Taser him four times, and wrap their arms around his neck.
If the BLM protests taught us anything, it was that if you don’t cower before police authority, they’ll kill you regardless of your skin color.
We should still do it. However, don’t pretend cops won’t kill white people. Just because they prefer to kill brown people it doesn’t mean they’re not willing to branch out.
And if the murder of Daniel Shaver is any indication, cowering before police authority isn’t a sure bet against being killed either.
My plan is for us to all be armed. Plus, police seem to really dislike being filmed while they murder people for some reason.