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While Phoenix police deal with the aftermath the violent beating of a deaf man and faces the threat of federal oversightdepartment is now set to face a lawsuit after a man suffered third-degree burns over much of his body during a detention.

Michael Kenyon, who has not been charged with murder over the incident, spent more than a month in hospital with burns to his face, arms, chest and legs.

Now he’s missing a few chunks of flesh above his knees.

Michael Kenyon

“Phoenix police have demonstrated a total disregard for human life time and time again,” said Bobby DiCello, one of Kenyon’s attorneys. “This young man was burned to the third degree because his skin was cooked on the asphalt.”

Asked again if he believed the officers had “cooked” Kenyon, DiCello said, “There’s no question.”

Michael Kenyon

Phoenix police said Kenyon fought with their officers and added that the incident remains under criminal and internal investigation.

The incident happened on the afternoon of July 6, 2024, when the temperature reached 114 degrees in downtown Phoenix.

See surveillance video of the incident in the player below.

Surveillance video shows Michael Kenyon suffering third-degree burns on the hot pavement

Surveillance video shows Kenyon being stopped by officers and questioned in a parking lot near 7th and McKinley streets. After both sides began shooting at each other, a handful of officers took Kenyon to the counter and held him there for more than four minutes.

A witness from a nearby balcony began recording in the middle of the incident.

Cell phone video shows Kenyon yelling, “please… please… I can’t move. I didn’t do anything.”

See cellphone video provided to ABC15 in the player below.

The man suffers third degree burns while being held on the hot pavement

“The lady across the building said she thought an animal was dying. That’s why he looked out the window,” Kenyon said during an interview. “And that’s when he started recording me.”

Kenyon and his attorneys provided ABC15 with the surveillance and cellphone videos, but were unable to obtain a copy of the incident report from Phoenix police.

Through a public records request, ABC15 also requested the incident report and any body camera footage to hear what happened during the incident.

At the time of reporting, those requests have not been completed.

In an interview with ABC15, Kenyon said he believes the officers pulled him over because his roommate had recently reported a theft from their house, which is across the street. Police later determined that Kenyon was not the suspect in the theft.

Below is Kenyon’s account of the initial interaction.

“So I walked up to them with the phone in my hand and said, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ or “What’s going on?”… One officer grabbed my wrist and the other grabbed my other wrist… They said in a hostile way, “You’re under arrest.” But I said, “I’m on the phone. what do you mean I didn’t do anything. Please explain to me. And they said, “Why are you angry? why do you look nervous I said, “I’m not. you scare me can you please explain let me sit down let me sit down I sat on the back of some random person’s truck.”

Kenyon also described his version of what was happening when he was knocked to the ground.

“They said, ‘Give me your arms. Can’t resist anymore. And I think there were five people on top of me then… And I’m just screaming for help. And I’m afraid. And I think that’s literally (how) George Floyd was literally… And then I am as I am, this is where I am, this is where I think I’ll stay… This is the end. “

Kenyon said he thought of George Floyd because the officers were kneeling on his head, neck and back.

The video appears to show an officer kneeling on the head or neck during the incident.

Kenyon said the pain was unbearable.

“It’s like you’re going through hell and Hades… You feel like your skin is melting,” he said.

“Deep down I think I’ve had a bad past, I don’t deserve a lot of good things in my life. So I’m like maybe I deserved it, you know,” he said.

Kenyon added that he wouldn’t wish pain on his worst enemy.

“No, no, I wouldn’t,” he said.

At the time of the incident, Kenyon had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on a drug charge, court records show. He claims he didn’t know about the warrant, and the department confirmed the officers didn’t either at the time.

Medical records show Kenyon spent several weeks in the burn unit at Valleywise Medical Center and then more time in a rehabilitation facility.

He and his attorneys told ABC15 officers were stationed at the hospital for several days, possibly a week, and often handcuffed him.

“They were right outside the room,” Kenyon said. “They had this clicker thing with the blinds (where they looked through them).”

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He added: “They wouldn’t let me use my phone and contact my family… It took certain police officers to break the rules to let me use my phone.”

Kenyon said the officers eventually left after a friend called some lawyers and they showed up at the hospital.

“He didn’t commit a crime, he was never charged with a crime,” DiCello said. “And he spent over a month in a burn unit with the police looking through the windows to see what he was doing.”

Kenyon is now represented by a team of local and national law firms.

Attorneys, including DiCello and Steve Benedetto, also represent dozens of people protesters who were falsely accused by Phoenix police – some as members of a fake gang made up by officers and prosecutors.

Those attorneys said Kenyon’s case continues to demonstrate that Phoenix is ​​incapable of self-policing, especially since the incident occurred. after the Justice Department released the findings to the city.

The exposure of Kenyon’s incident also comes weeks after Phoenix police faced off reaction to the violent arrest of Tyron McAlpin.

The Phoenix Police Department released the following statement to the media regarding this incident:

“On July 6, 2024, Phoenix Police officers responded to the area of ​​7th Street and McKinley Street in reference to a theft in progress. When officers responded, they observed an adult male, later identified as Michael Kenyon, who matched the description given to the suspect. of theft.

Officers made contact with Kenyon, telling him he was being held so they could understand what might have happened. The man fought with the police, which resulted in him being taken to the ground on the hot asphalt. The man suffered burns on various parts of his body from the moment he was on the ground.

Kenyon was determined not to be the suspect in the theft. He was taken to the hospital, and the police learned that he had a warrant for his criminal arrest. This incident is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. An investigation is also being carried out by the Professional Standards Bureau, which began on 9 July 2024.”

UPDATE: After ABC15 reached out to Phoenix police for comment on the arson case, the Maricopa County District Attorney’s office filed criminal charges against Michael Kenyon in a separate incident.

A direct complaint was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court on October 28 at 3:17 p.m.

ABC15 reached out to Phoenix police for comment on Kenyon’s burning case a few hours earlier — at 6 a.m. that same day.

“We are still investigating this allegation,” said Stephen Benedetto, one of Kenyon’s lawyers. “The timing of the allegations is certainly suspicious, especially given the history of the Phoenix PD. But we reserve judgment until we complete our own investigation.”

The new charges are related to an alleged domestic violence incident in March involving Kenyon and his brother.

The direct complaint, which did not include specific details of the incident, included allegations of aggravated assault, battery and disorderly conduct.

In an email to ABC15, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office responded to the timing of the new charges.

“The incident involved in this case came to the attention of the MCAO in March 2024. Specifically, the filing was processed on March 21, 2024. The prosecutor who is currently assigned to the case received it on October 2, 2024. There was no conversation yesterday . between MCAO and PPD on this matter,” according to a spokesperson.

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Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at [email protected].