25 signatures reached
To: Polie Chief Matthew Giordano, City Manager Ed Zuercher, Asst. City Manager Lori Bays, Mayor Kate Gallego and the Phoenix City Council
Reverse Civil Service Board: Suspend Phoenix Officers Harris and Sue for 34 days
We, the undersigned community members, demand that the Phoenix Civil Service Board immediately reverse its decisions to rescind the discipline of Phoenix Police Officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue. Furthermore, we demand that both officers be placed on an immediate, unpaid 34-day suspension. This duration directly equals the exact amount of time an innocent, deaf man with cerebral palsy, Tyron McAlpin, was forced to spend locked in a jail cell due to the false reports and fabricated charges filed by these officers.
Our Explicit Demands:
Our Explicit Demands:
- Overturn the Civil Service Board's Action: We call on the City Council and leadership to challenge the lack of transparency and push to reinstate immediate disciplinary measures against Officers Harris and Sue.
- Implement a Mandatory 34-Day Suspension: Order an immediate 34-day unpaid suspension for both officers—one day of accountability for every single day Mr. McAlpin unjustly lost his freedom.
- End Secret Disciplinary Reversals: Demand the Phoenix City Council reform the Civil Service Board to ensure all future appeal hearings, votes, and justifications regarding police misconduct are fully transparent and accessible to the public.
Why is this important?
In August 2024, Phoenix Police Officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue aggressively confronted Tyron McAlpin based on unverified allegations from a bystander. Within seconds of the encounter, body camera footage showed the officers repeatedly punching Mr. McAlpin and shocking him with a taser multiple times. Mr. McAlpin, who is deaf and lives with cerebral palsy, could not hear their commands and posed absolutely no threat.
Following the violent arrest, the officers filed reports claiming Mr. McAlpin took a "fighting stance" and assaulted them. Because of these lies, Mr. McAlpin was wrongfully incarcerated for over a month before the Maricopa County Attorney's Office finally reviewed the evidence and dropped all charges.
While the Police Department initially issued a minor 24-hour suspension to the officers, the Phoenix Civil Service Board voted behind closed doors to completely overturn Officer Harris's suspension and reduce Officer Sue's discipline to a mere written reprimand.
Erasing what was already a minimal "slap on the wrist" is a profound insult to the disabled community and completely destroys public trust. A system that forces an innocent man to spend over a month in jail while letting the officers who beat him escape a single day of lost pay is fundamentally broken.