Latest news with #McAlpin
Express Tribune
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Blake Lively speaks at Time100 Gala, addressing 'not' her legal drama with Justin Baldoni
Blake Lively alluded to her ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni while delivering an emotional speech at the Time100 Gala on Thursday. The actress, honored as one of Time magazine's "Most Influential People of 2025," began by acknowledging the challenges of the past two years, but emphasized that the gala was not the time to discuss them in detail. She did, however, speak passionately about the power of a woman's voice in today's world. Lively, 37, turned her attention to her mother, Willie Elain McAlpin, who was present at the event. The actress described her mother as an "eternal optimist" before revealing that McAlpin, 77, was the victim of a violent crime. Lively shared that her mother had concealed the shame of a traumatic assault throughout her life, but now felt it was necessary to speak out in the hope of changing the narrative. "My mom never got justice from her work acquaintance who attempted to take her life when she was the mother of three young kids years before I was born," Lively explained. Though she did not provide specific details, Lively credited another woman's survival story for saving her mother's life. She described how this woman's powerful broadcast about escaping a similar ordeal gave McAlpin the courage to survive, emphasizing the importance of sharing stories of survival to inspire others. In her speech, Lively also thanked "every man," particularly her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for being a "kind and good" support system. She acknowledged those who fight for safety and justice across all communities and praised fellow honoree Gisèle Pelicot, a French woman who endured multiple assaults by her husband. Lively's speech comes amid her ongoing legal conflict with Baldoni, who is facing accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior during the filming of It Ends With Us. Baldoni has denied the allegations and filed a countersuit against Lively for defamation, which is set to go to trial in March 2026.
USA Today
28-03-2025
- USA Today
Police officers get 3-day suspensions over violent arrest of deaf Black man with cerebral palsy
Police officers get 3-day suspensions over violent arrest of deaf Black man with cerebral palsy Show Caption Hide Caption Phoenix Police Department body camera footage of Tyron McAlpin arrest Phoenix Police Department body camera footage shows the struggle officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue had with Tyron McAlpin outside of a Circle K. Provided by the Phoenix Police Department Three Phoenix police officers will serve 24-hour unpaid suspensions for their roles in the violent arrest of Tyron McAlpin. McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy, was repeatedly shocked with a stun gun and punched by officers during the August 2024 incident. The Phoenix Police Department is facing scrutiny for its use of force, with a recent Department of Justice report highlighting widespread problems. Corrections & Clarifications: A headline was incorrect in a previous version of this article. Three Phoenix police officers will receive 24-hour unpaid suspensions – the equivalent of three days' work – for their involvement in the violent arrest of Tyron McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy, according to police. Interim police Chief Michael Sullivan issued the discipline in response to the assault and repeated shocking of McAlpin in August 2024. Two of the officers were also required to complete additional de-escalation training, police said in a March 25 news release. The attack on McAlpin drew public outcry and criticism after footage of the encounter was released. Sullivan said the department took those concerns seriously and the suspensions reflected its commitment to "accountability and maintaining public trust." "At the same time, we stand by the men and women of this department who are placed in difficult situations every day," he said. "We will continue to support our officers with training and guidance to ensure they can perform their duties safely and effectively. Our goal is to learn from this and move forward together as a stronger department and community.' Police declined to name the officers who were suspended, saying the information would be available once an administrative investigation was complete. In October, police said officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue were placed on administrative leave while the department investigated their involvement in McAlpin's arrest. A federal lawsuit filed by lawyers for McAlpin in March also accused officer Jorge Acosta of wrongdoing. On Aug. 19, 2024, officers Harris and Sue responded to a trespassing call at an area convenience store. The white man they were asked to remove from the store told them he was attacked and directed them to McAlpin, who was across the street. According to police body camera footage, Harris told McAlpin to stop. Within seconds, Harris grabbed McAlpin and the two struggled. Harris used a stun gun on him four times, then both officers collectively punched McAlpin over a dozen times, according to video recordings. After the beating, Acosta tried justifying the officers' actions by falsely saying in a report that the white man told police McAlpin had assaulted him and stolen his phone, according to the federal lawsuit. The encounter left McAlpin jailed for three weeks. He faced aggravated assault and resisting arrest charges that Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell eventually dropped. The attack on McAlpin occurred two months after the U.S. Department of Justice released a report concluding that the Phoenix Police Department had widespread problems, including routinely using excessive force. Sullivan was tapped to lead Phoenix police on an interim basis in September 2022 and is a finalist to be the department's chief. Phoenix police union members have said in recent surveys they were overwhelmingly opposed to Sullivan staying on as the police chief because he was leading the department in the wrong direction and wasn't supportive in trying times. (This article was updated to add new information.)
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
Phoenix officers suspended for 24 hours after repeatedly punching deaf man with cerebral palsy during arrest
Three Phoenix police officers will receive 24-hour, unpaid suspensions, and two of them must undergo more training, after the arrest of a deaf man who has cerebral palsy last year, the police chief said Wednesday. Tyron McAlpin was arrested on Aug. 19 after a man who was involved in a fight at a convenience store pointed to McAlpin — who was walking by — as he was talking to officers, according to a police report. Video showed McAlpin being arrested almost as soon as police got out of their vehicle. McAlpin was punched and shocked with a stun gun, the video shows. McAlpin had been charged with felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest, but Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell dismissed the charges in October after having reviewed the case. McAlpin's attorney said at the time that the officers' injuries during the arrest resulted from their 'frenzied and violent attack on Tyron.' Phoenix police said in a statement Wednesday: 'The Department identified policy violations' following an administrative investigation into the arrest. The statement did not identify the officers. A police spokesperson said the department was not naming them because a possible appeal process is pending. All three offices were suspended without pay for 24 hours, and two of them will be required to undergo additional de-escalation training, the police department said. The suspensions are for 24 hours in total, so if officers work eight-hour shifts, they would be three-day suspensions, police said. 'Our priority is always the safety and well-being of our community and our officers. We understand the concerns raised by this incident, and we take them seriously,' interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan said. The incident occurred after someone called 911 about a fight at a Circle K store, police said in an incident report. The caller said a white man was the aggressor and was still inside the store, according to the report. The man pointed to McAlpin, who is Black, and claimed he assaulted him, police wrote in the report. McAlpin's attorney, Jesse Showalter, said police used excessive force and didn't interview the Circle K employee or anyone else to ask what happened. In the video, 'what you see is simply Tyron trying to avoid being struck repeatedly by the officer who repeatedly swings punches at his face,' Showalter said in October. There is no indication that the officers knew McAlpin was deaf or had cerebral palsy before they arrested him. 'Our goal is to learn from this and move forward together as a stronger department and community,' Sullivan said in Wednesday's statement. Showalter did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment sent to his law firm late Wednesday afternoon. This article was originally published on
NBC News
27-03-2025
- NBC News
Phoenix officers suspended for 24 hours after repeatedly punching deaf man with cerebral palsy during arrest
Three Phoenix police officers will receive 24-hour, unpaid suspensions, and two of them must undergo more training, after the arrest of a deaf man who has cerebral palsy last year, the police chief said Wednesday. Tyron McAlpin was arrested on Aug. 19, 2024, after a man who was involved in a fight at a convenience store pointed to McAlpin — who was walking by — while talking to officers, according to a police report. Video showed McAlpin arrested almost as soon as police exited their vehicle. McAlpin was punched and shocked with a stun gun, the video shows. McAlpin had been charged with felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest, but Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell dismissed those charges in October after reviewing the case. McAlpin's attorney said at the time that the officers' injuries during the arrest resulted from their 'frenzied and violent attack on Tyron.' 'The Department identified policy violations' following an administrative investigation into the arrest, the Phoenix Police Department said in a statement Wednesday. The statement did not identify the officers. A police spokesperson said the department was not naming the officers because a possible appeal process is pending. All three offices received 24-hour unpaid suspensions, and two of them will be required to undergo additional de-escalation training, the department said. The suspensions are for 24 hours in total, so if officers work eight-hour shifts, that would be a three-day suspension, police said. 'Our priority is always the safety and well-being of our community and our officers. We understand the concerns raised by this incident, and we take them seriously,' Interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan said. The incident occurred after someone called 911 about a fight at a Circle K store, police said in an incident report. The caller said a white man was the aggressor and was still inside the store, according to the report. The man pointed to McAlpin, who is Black, and claimed he assaulted him, police wrote in the report. McAlpin's attorney, Jesse Showalter, said police used excessive force and didn't interview the Circle K employee or anyone to ask what happened. In the video, 'what you see is simply Tyron trying to avoid being struck repeatedly by the officer who repeatedly swings punches at his face,' Showalter said in October. There is no indication that the officers knew McAlpin was deaf or had cerebral palsy before his arrest. 'Our goal is to learn from this and move forward together as a stronger department and community,' Sullivan, the interim police chief, said in Wednesday's statement.
The Guardian
26-03-2025
- The Guardian
Arizona officers who beat deaf Black man with cerebral palsy put on suspension
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 has 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 deescalation 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. In a statement on Tuesday reported by 12News, Sullivan said: 'We understand the concerns raised by this incident, and we take them seriously. The decision to suspend the officers reflects our commitment to accountability and maintaining public trust.' Last October, McAlpin's attorneys released video footage of his violent arrest which occurred on 19 August outside a Circle K convenience store in Phoenix. According to a police incident report, officers responded to a call about a fight in the store. ABC15 reports that the 911 caller said a white man was causing a disturbance in the store. The police officers, Harris and Sue, approached the man who claimed that he was assaulted while trying to stop someone from stealing a bike. The man proceeded to point to McAlpin, who was walking nearby, as the aggressor. Body camera footage showed the officers approaching McAlpin in a parking lot, where they ordered him to lie on the ground. In the police incident report, Harris wrote: 'His hands raised to deliver targeted punches at my face/head, and multiple swings with closed fists at my head.' Harris also claimed that McAlpin had a 'fighting stance with his legs planted for stability and force delivery' and that McAlpin 'made it clear to me in the moment that he was not simply assaulting me in order to get away but engaging in assaults to cause me harm and injury'. However, the body camera footage as well as additional surveillance camera footage showed Harris lunging out of his car first and charging towards McAlpin, who initially had his arms by his side. The body camera footage proceeds to show one of the officers saying 'tase him', and while McAlpin is pinned to the ground the officers stun him four times. The body camera footage also showed the officers punching McAlpin at least 10 times on the head and back. Last November, McAlpin filed a $3.5m notice of claim against the city and the three officers who were involved in his arrest. Sign up to First Thing Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion In response to the release of McAlpin's footage last year, Andre Miller, vice-president of the Arizona chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said: 'This brutal assault was due to the false claims of a white citizen, reminiscent of many falsehoods like Emmett Till that have claimed the lives of black citizens in America … Tyron was not a suspect in an actual crime, he had not done anything wrong, and he also has communication challenges.' Meanwhile, the president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, Darrell Kriplean, condemned the officers' latest suspensions, saying: 'We are appalled by the determination made by interim chief Sullivan to suspend the three officers involved in the McAlpin case. 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.'
