Man hospitalized for a month after being held down by police on a hot Phoenix sidewalk

Husband in Phoenix sues on city ​​police department after the cops held him down to the very hot pavement, leaving him third degree burns.

Michael Kenyon, who was never charged with a crime related to his July 6 encounter Phoenix P.Dspent more than a month in the hospital with burns to his face, arms, chest and legs, and body parts missing above his knees.

This was told by one of Kenyon’s lawyers, Bobby DiCello ABC 15 that “Phoenix police have shown time and time again their complete disregard for human life.”

“This young man suffered third-degree burns because his skin was cooked on the asphalt,” he said.

Kenyon was stopped by police and questioned in the parking lot, according to Phoenix police.

Video of the incident shows Kenyon struggling with officers before being tackled to the ground after he refuses to yield. Authorities keep him there for more than four minutes, despite it being a 114-degree Fahrenheit day in downtown Phoenix.

A witness to the collision captured cellphone video of the incident, in which Kenyon can be heard screaming: “Please…please…I can’t move. I didn’t do anything.”

Kenyon told ABC 15 that the woman who recorded the footage initially “thought the animal was dying,” but when she looked, she only found it burning on the summer streets of Phoenix.

ABC 15 has requested access for police body camera video of the incident, as well as an incident report from Phoenix police, but as of Oct. 30, neither of those requests had been completed.

Kenyon claims police pulled him over because his roommate had recently reported a burglary at their home, believing him to be a suspect. At the time of his arrest, Kenyon had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on drug charges, which he said he was unaware of. The police were also unaware of the warrant at the time of the incident, the broadcaster reports.

“So I went up to them with my phone in my hand and said, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ or ‘What’s going on?’… One officer grabbed one of my wrists and another officer grabbed the other… They told me in a mean, hostile manner, ‘You’re under arrest,’” Kenyon told ABC 15.

He described how scared he was during the conversation, likened him to George Floyd and asked to sit down and talk to police before he was knocked onto the hot pavement.

“They said, ‘Give me your hands. Stop resisting.” And I think that’s when five people were on top of me… And I was just screaming for help. And I’m scared,” Kenyon said. “And I think it’s literally (like) George Floyd was literally like that… And that’s when I feel like this is it, this is me, this is where I think I’m going to stay… This the end.”

Phoenix police also gave their version of events to ABC 15, saying that “(officers) contacted Kenyon telling him he was being detained so they could figure out what might have happened. The man fought with the policemen, as a result of which he was knocked down on the hot asphalt.”

“The man received burns on various parts of his body when he was on the ground,” the agency said.

Kenyon said the pain is like “going through hell” and that it feels like “your skin is melting.”

After a long recovery, Kenyon is now ready to go to court, but will have to do so while dealing with an unrelated criminal charge. Shortly after ABC 15 spoke to Phoenix police about Kenyon, they charged him with domestic violence involving his brother. The complaint includes charges of aggravated assault, assault and battery.

The Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office told ABC 15 that the DUI charge is related to an incident in March, and that city prosecutors have not discussed their ties to Kenyon with Phoenix police.

Earlier this month, Phoenix sparked backlash after tasing a deaf, black man with cerebral palsy.