WARNING: This report contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Phoenix Police Department — already dealing with the fallout from the violent beating of a deaf man and facing the threat of federal oversight — is facing another 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 after the July 6 incident. 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.”

When 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 when it was 114º in central 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 pulled over by officers and questioned in a parking lot. After both sides began to shoot 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 Scripps News Phoenix in the player below.

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

“The lady over the top said she thought an animal was dying. So she looked out the window and that’s when she started recording me,” Kenyon said during an interview.

Kenyon and his attorneys provided Scripps News Phoenix 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, Scripps News Phoenix 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 Scripps News Phoenix, 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.

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

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 going through hell and Hades… You feel your skin melting,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t wish that pain on his worst enemy. “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 this, you know?”

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 Scripps News Phoenix that officers were stationed at the hospital for several days, possibly a week, and often handcuffed him.

“They were right outside the room. They had this little click thing with the blinds (where they looked through),” he said. “They wouldn’t let me use my phone and contact my family… It took certain cops to break the rules to let me use my phone. .”

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

“He did not commit any 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.”

RELATED STORY | DOJ: Phoenix police violated civil rights, showed patterns of discrimination

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

The attorneys, including DiCello and Steve Benedetto, also represent dozens of protesters who were falsely accused by Phoenix police — some as members of a bogus gang made up by officers and prosecutors. Attorneys say Kenyon’s case continues to demonstrate that Phoenix is ​​incapable of self-policing, especially since the incident occurred after the Justice Department released its findings to the city.

The revelation of Kenyon’s incident also comes weeks after Phoenix police faced backlash for the violent arrest of Tyron McAlpin.

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

After Scripps News Phoenix contacted 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.

Scripps News 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 Scripps News Phoenix, the Maricopa County District 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.

This story was originally published by Dave Biscobing on Scripps News Phoenix.