Phoenix man suffered burns when held down by officers during triple-degree heat

A man suffered third-degree burns this summer when Phoenix police officers held him down on pavement for four minutes on a day of triple-degree heat.

ABC15 Arizona reported Tuesday that Michael Kenyon spent more than a month hospitalized with “unbearable pain” from burns on his face, arms, chest and legs after the July 6 encounter with officers in a parking lot. That day, the high temperature reached 114 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius).

Kenyon told the station that he believes officers stopped him because his roommate had recently reported a theft from their home, which is across the street from where the encounter occurred.

Phoenix police said although Kenyon matched the description of the suspect, he ultimately was determined not to be a suspect. The agency said it is conducting criminal and internal investigations.

At the time, Kenyon had an outstanding warrant for failing to appear on a drug charge. He said he didn’t know about the warrant, and the department confirmed officers also didn’t know about it at the time.

Surveillance video showed Kenyon walking in the parking lot and getting stopped and questioned by officers, who tried to detain him. Police say Kenyon was taken to the ground by officers after a struggle.

“This young man was burned to the third degree because his skin was cooked on asphalt,” said Bobby DiCello, one of Kenyon’s attorneys.

Scores of people are hospitalized with surface burns every summer in Phoenix, where sizzling sidewalks pose a painful danger to people as air temperatures soar into the triple digits.

Young children, older adults and homeless people are especially at risk for contact burns, which can occur within seconds when skin touches a surface of 180 degrees Fahrenheit (82 C). Contact burns typically occur by accident, often when a person trips and falls, or suffers heat stroke and collapses on the pavement.

This isn’t the first time a person has alleged to have suffered burns when being detained on hot pavement by Phoenix police officers.

A 2020 lawsuit alleged a 17-year-old girl suffered second-degree burns on her arms when Phoenix police officers pinned her on a sidewalk on a day when temperatures reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius).

The suit alleged the teen’s skin peeled off her body when officers removed her from the sidewalk, an allegation denied in court papers by lawyers representing the police department. The lawsuit was dismissed in April 2022.

This year, the Phoenix Police Department was accused by the U.S. Justice Department of discriminating against Black, Latino and Native American people, unlawfully detaining homeless people and using excessive force, including unjustified deadly force.

The city has said it is committed to reforms in its police department but has resisted efforts to enter a consent decree with the Justice Department.

Earlier this month, Phoenix police officers were criticized after video footage was broadcast of officers repeatedly punching and shocking a deaf Black man with a Taser during an Aug. 19 encounter in a parking lot. Resisting arrest and aggravated assault charges filed against the man were later dismissed.