PHOENIX -- Jesse Showalter, the lawyer of Tyron McAlpin, said his client was in jail for 24 days following the arrest of McAlpin.
McAlpin, 34, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, was arrested on Aug. 19 after officers were acting on what turned out to be false information from a white man when they used a taser on McAlpin, who is Black, and punched him multiple times in the head.
The charges against McAlpin were dropped on Thursday. Showalter said he and his client have been in contact with a person from the Department of Justice following the charges being dropped.
A body-worn camera and surveillance video footage appears to show an officer initiating 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 that the situation could have been avoided if McAlpin indicated he was deaf, according to ABC15.
Showlater joined KTAR News' Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos on Friday and said McAlpin did not do anything that warranted the officer to come over to his client.
"We've been trying to get more information for why this happened and the silence from the city of Phoenix is really alarming," Showalter said. "There is no explanation for why this officer accelerated and escalated the situation in the way he did."
Showalter said his client was in jail that long due to the bond being set at $7,500 which McAlpin couldn't afford. The non-profit organization "The Bail Project" became involved in the case at the behest of the public defender's office and helped with the bail.
Showalter revealed that McAlpin was treated for a concussion after the arrest and still has a lump on his forehead from the incident.
Showalter is shocked by the incident due to the person McAlpin is.
"He's a very sweet man who really likes people and is a very helpful person," Showalter said. "I had an investigator at the Circle K who interviewed employees who were on shift that morning and they all said they know Tyron.
"He was there that morning and opening the door for people. He comes in frequently there and he comes in and buys a drink for his girlfriend. He's an innocent man."