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Arizona: Police Officers Attacked Black Teenager with Developmental Disability

HeadlineJan 22, 2020

In Phoenix, Arizona, the family of a 19-year-old black teen who was shot by police with a rubber bullet in the chest and tackled to the ground is demanding the officers be immediately fired. Dion Humphrey has a developmental disability and is a sickle cell patient. He was attacked by police on January 10 when the officers allegedly confused him for his older half-brother who had an arrest warrant. The officers shot him with a rubber bullet, tackled him, stepped on Humphrey’s back, denied him medical attention, and interrogated him for seven hours. This is Dion Humphrey speaking to the family’s spokesperson, Rev. Jarrett Maupin, in the hospital.

Rev. Jarrett Maupin: “So, Dion, you’re here. You survived your encounter with police. How are you feeling? How does your body feel?”

Dion Humphrey: “I’m feeling like I’m — my body, like burning. The pain that I have, the incident done, that I have right here, is burning. And it’s hard for me to breathe. And it’s just so heavy.”

Rev. Jarrett Maupin: “And this is from the police beating you up?”

Dion Humphrey: “Yes.”

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